Masquerade
by Little Donkey
Summary: Ritsu prefers to show affection through her actions. Mio does too when words often fail her. And they, like any other human, aren't mind readers.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Masquerade**  
Rating**: M**  
Summary**: Ritsu prefers to show affection through her actions. Mio does too when words often fail her. And they, like any other human, aren't mind readers.**  
Chapters**: A dozen, I think. Maybe more than that.**  
Setting**: After high school—Yup, again. Let's take what has happened in Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2 has happened. I'm ignoring the rest. As usual.**  
POV**: Ritsu**  
Disclaimer**: Stealing Bonnie Pink's lyrics and titles again; they're not mine. My half-assed translation of them is mine though. :3 And my OCs.

**Warnings**: There aren't any cute, fluffy cookies in here; no soothing music; there's also crude language. Oh, and sex.

**ooooo**

_She's actually playing  
Masquerade  
behind that mask_

**ooo**

"Yeaah!"

"Please stop yelling."

"Ambush the shit out of them," Ritsu continued, throwing the words at the TV, "Show that princesses aren't useless!"

Ritsu watched Mio roll her eyes. "C'mon," she said to her, "you have to admit that she's awesome."

"No, I agree with you. I'm just feeling the beginnings of a headache, that's all," Mio said, finishing it with a wry smile.

"The TV's louder than me."

"I kinda doubt that."

"You know," Ritsu said, raising her eyebrows in pure innocence, "I heard sex cures headaches."

The glass of champagne in her hand was snatched off and placed at Mio's side of the table. Ritsu lunged for it. But her legs became gooey after such a long time of inactivity that she fell heavily right onto her friend.

Mio pushed her away. "You've been drinking too much."

Ritsu rested on her weight so she could fall back onto Mio. Mio huffed. "My feet've gone asleep," Ritsu muttered, smacking her lips as if she was about to go asleep herself, "Lemme lie on you."

"You're heavy."

"You're heavier."

Ritsu received a thwack to the head.

"Must be 'cause of your boobs," Ritsu added, wincing. "Freaking C cups."

"I'm so sorry about the size of my chest," Mio deadpanned.

Ritsu detected a bit of hurt in Mio's tone, so she leaned in and closed her eyes. "You smell good," she murmured.

"Oh, really."

"Yeah, dunno why you always wear it though. Perfume, I mean."

"…I just sweat easily."

"I won't tease you if you stink."

"One less reason out of a thousand doesn't sound assuring."

Ritsu giggled. "Oh admit it, you secretly love it." She then realised that the volume of the TV had long gone low, so she mentally thanked Mio on her tact and sought out some sleep.

**ooo**

"Why don't you ask his email for me?"

Ritsu took another swig of her beer and cherished the cold, refreshing substance in her mouth. "He'd be more likely to cough it up if _you_ were to do that, Reina. Believe me."

Reina looked at Ritsu's drink distastefully. "That's easy for you to say," she mumbled.

Ritsu gulped down the last drops of the can before she stood up to deposit it. When she settled back into her seat, she replied, "C'mon! I know someone who's as shy as you! And she managed to snag someone."

"That's her; this is me."

"Oh stop complaining. Use that cute mouth to talk to him instead."

Reina raised an eyebrow. Ritsu flung her hands into the air and gave up. They had this conversation far too many times that it was greatly taxing her patience. Maybe she should go and do what her friend had requested. But the boy in question was as shy as Reina—if not shyer—and if they were to get together because of her, she had a sinking suspicion that she'd be holding their hands as they kissed and went to bed.

"How are things with Daishiro-kun?" Reina asked.

"Hn?" Ritsu made a mental shake. "Oh, did I tell ya we're having another date this weekend?"

"No," Reina said, smiling dryly, "So it's going good?"

"Yeah, it is." There was a sudden vibration in her pocket. Pulling out her phone, Ritsu glanced at the call ID. "And just look who calls."

Reina shrugged, showing that she didn't mind the interruption, so Ritsu pressed the phone to her ear and answered, "Hey."

"Hey," Daishiro replied, "you busy tonight?"

"Yeah I am. Promised I'll see my friend."

"When's the last time you saw this friend?"

"A few days ago."

"I haven't seen you for almost a week. Reschedule it; it's nothing important, right?"

"Did you miss the word, 'promised'? Anyway, I'm gonna be introduced to her boyfriend, finally." She then paused, thinking over what she had just said. "Oh hey, it can be a double date."

"I pass."

"Huh?"

"Don't like double dates."

"Oh fine. So I'll see ya on Saturday."

"Yeah. On Saturday."

"Bye."

"Yeah. Bye, Ritsu."

Reina made a questionable face. "That's a short call," she commented.

Ritsu shrugged. "We're gonna talk again later, before midnight."

The face became wistful. "I wish I could talk to him like that."

"Go and fucking do it then," Ritsu groaned.

**ooo**

Ritsu clicked her tongue, browsing through a collection of CDs perched on rotting shelves.

She had hesitated on her way out of the house, wondering if she should not smell so plain—a self-conscious effect whenever she was with Mio. And she had leisurely made a trip back to her room to do just that. But still, she had managed, possibly due to the lack of crowd, to arrive ten minutes earlier than agreed.

So now she was flicking through titles of old songs, flashing back to her times in high school.

She missed those moments, for they were simple and easy. Every day was predictable and fun when they were together. Now, things were predictable and boring, dotted with lectures and breaks that were hardly ever efficiently used. But Tsumugi's 21st birthday was coming up, and Ritsu was looking forward to seeing the other three again. It had been months.

The familiar vibration cut her nostalgia short. Shaking her head at being so sentimental all of a sudden, she picked her phone up and immediately said, "Yeah, Mio, I'll be right there."

"You're probably still on the train."

"Nah uh, I'm in the shop right next door."

"Ha ha. Very funny, Ritsu. But just to amuse you, I'll check it and…."

Ritsu turned around, spotted a gaping Mio and cheerfully waved. "Hello," she said to the mouthpiece.

When she had made her way to her, Mio was still looking gobsmacked. Ritsu flapped a hand before her face. "Hellooo to Mio."

"You're on time."

"Uh huh."

"Who are you and what did you do to Ritsu?"

Ritsu smirked. "Missed me already, huh?"

"You wish."

"You keep flirting, ja?" came a voice that Ritsu didn't recognise. She watched Mio glare at the boy beside her.

Ah, the boyfriend.

He bowed his head to her. "I'm Weber, Souta. Nice to meet you."

_What, Souta?_

Ritsu gave a shallow bow back. "I'm Tainaka Ritsu, nice to meet you too."

Souta seemed to appraise her for a moment. "You're small."

Ritsu blinked, taking a good look at him. He was a head taller than Mio, had hair the colour of morning urine, and eyes that reminded her of fresh toilet water. _And that accent … ugh._ "I'm what?"

"Small," he repeated, waving his hand vaguely. "Uh, short. Same shit."

Ritsu's mouth ticked. She watched with satisfaction when Mio jabbed Souta on the side.

"Why the serious face?" Souta asked, having quickly recovered from the stab. "Mio told me Ritsu was a joker."

"Is it alright if I call you on a first-name basis then? Your surname's hard to remember," Ritsu drawled.

"Sure. Don't see why not."

_That was supposed to piss you off_.

"So," Souta continued, darting his eyes towards the restaurant, "should we enter now or tomorrow?"

Ritsu's stomach rumbled, cutting off any sharp replies at the tip of her tongue. She shrugged and followed them inside.

A waitress quickly appeared before them. "Welcome. Would you like the smoking or the non-smoking area?"

"The non-smoking area, thank you," Mio replied.

Souta leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Mio then smacked him, hissing something that looked like, "No you're not."

"Please come this way," the waitress said, guiding them to a table for four. Ritsu idly dropped her handbag on the empty seat next to her, ignoring the supposed presence. It was his own damn fault for not liking to socialise with her friends.

"So, Ritsu," Souta said after they had ordered, "tell me about yourself."

Ritsu raised an eyebrow at the reversed roles. She glanced at Mio, who was inspecting her nails, before she replied, "I'm a joker."

"Something I don't know."

"My birthday's coming up in two months. My blood type's B, and my three sizes—"

"I don't need to know. I already have a girlfriend, you know."

_So he's faithful_, Ritsu thought. Still, the way he had replied irritated her. "Why don't _you_ tell me about yourself. Mio doesn't tell me anything."

Souta laughed. "Well of course. Let's see, my birthday's coming up too. I think I'm type O. And Mio's three sizes are—"

"I already know."

Souta tilted his head towards Mio's way. "She's beautiful, ja?"

"Yeah, she is. So you'd better take care of her."

"Trust me," Souta said, smirking, "I do that a lot."

Ritsu blinked. She didn't think that Mio would be that liberal in the bedroom. She glanced at Mio. She was avoiding her eyes but she wasn't blushing.

"Were you born here?" Ritsu asked.

"No, no. I was born in Germany. I have been living here for about eight years."

"Why Japan?"

"My grandmother is Japanese. And my parents wanted to care for her. So we moved here."

"Oh, okay. I thought you were one of those freaky nerds that, you know, read more comics than me."

"Comics are nice to read."

Ritsu rolled her eyes. "So you _are_ one of them."

"Does it look like there are glasses? Uh, wear them. I." He clicked his tongue and quelled the girls' amusement with a sharp look. "Anyway, they helped on my kanji. And, there's a Japanese politician that's a nerd, ja?"

"Are you talking about our last PM?" Mio asked, finally speaking up.

Ritsu looked at her. "Oh, that guy? Doesn't he often misread?"

"Yeah, he does."

"I'm right here, you know," Souta said, "And it seems I'll be here for a while. So don't backstab too much 'til you are home."

The waitress returned and served them their food. After chorusing the mandatory line, Ritsu immediately dug in. Souta spoke a lot even when he was eating, although he managed to digest every bite before he did—leaving Ritsu to take Mio's litanies alone. But Mio had stopped fidgeting, and for that, Ritsu was glad for this meet up.

Souta had a strange, rambling sort of humour that would either amuse or annoy Ritsu. It largely depended if he was making fun of her, Mio, himself or the waitress that returned to serve their drinks. He brought up a variety of stories that took place when he was in high school. And Ritsu was transported back again, as she and Mio joined Souta's trip to memory lane.

After they had paid the bill—or to be more precise, Souta did—and were making their exit from the establishment, Ritsu decided that Souta really was okay. But then he paused at the door, almost making her bowl into him, and said, "Small people go first."

Ritsu's mouth ticked for the umpteenth time of the night. She so wanted to joyfully strangle him, she'd even said it out loud.

"Sure you can reach me? I can help you. Just let me find a chair for you."

_Don't kill Mio's boyfriend, Ritsu. Don't kill him_.

He hugged Mio goodbye before he went the opposite way. Ritsu wished for a downpour of rain, but she then realised that she would have to walk through it too.

"Wiedersehen, Tainaka!"

Ritsu frowned as he disappeared around a corner. "Your foreign boyfriend's a jackass."

"Foreign," Mio repeated, her mouth mirroring hers. She turned towards her and demanded, "Since when did you disparage people that aren't full Japanese?"

Ritsu grunted.

"You didn't have a problem with Mugi."

"Mugi doesn't have a weird accent."

"That's because she's born here. And how does that relate to my question?"

"Didn't you hear what he just called me?"

"…He was saying bye. Quite nicely, too."

Ritsu felt completely stupid now. She huffed and said, "You still deserve better."

Mio's eyebrows shot up. She looked at the shops across from them and muttered, "Do I?"

"Yeah. Want me to find a better guy for you?"

"…You won't find him."

"Huh, you think Souta's the one or something?"

Mio shrugged. "Yeah. He's a nice guy." She looked back and smirked. "He just likes to tease short people."

"I'm not that short," Ritsu growled. "And Dad says I'll grow."

Mio snorted, giggling. "You're nearly 21, and you haven't grown since elementary."

"Damn do I miss the days when I was taller than you."

"Very short days."

Ritsu glared at Mio. Mio laughed and added, "Where are you going now?"

"Home, duh."

"Okay. Go on ahead then."

"Huh, where are you going?"

"I'm going to the convenience store."

"That's along the way then. I'll wait for you."

"I'm going to see my grandfather after. So you don't have to."

"Oh," Ritsu said, squinting at the sprinkling sky and remembering. Mio was such a doting granddaughter; she seemed to visit every month. Ritsu had even met him a few times. He was a quiet man who liked his solitude and disliked her mildest jokes.

"Can I have the honour to walk you there, then?"

Mio rolled her eyes. "What's so honourable," she started slowly, "about walking someone to a place that's along the way?"

Ritsu wanted to point out that at least she offered, unlike Souta who went on his merry way. But she then realised Mio would have probably said the same thing to him, too. She sighed at how Mio was a hopeless romantic whenever they watched mushy movies, but a bitch whenever such situations were targeted at her.

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Do whatever you want," Mio said, starting to walk off.

Ritsu exhaled loudly and matched her steps.

Mio was right; Ritsu wouldn't be able to find a better boy than Souta. They had been together for several months, proving that he could stand his ground whenever Mio's mood swings become out of hand. When he had hugged her, she hadn't complained at the intimate act, even when he had placed his stubbled chin on her head.

_Fucking tall people._

"—Ritsu?"

"Am I really that short?" Ritsu muttered, kicking a pebble off the moist footpath. She saw Mio's shadow sneak towards her, and she was startled when a hand rested on her head.

"Don't worry about it. Short people are cute."

Ritsu blinked and looked up.

"It's easier for you to find a guy," Mio added, giving a ruffle of her hair before she withdrew it.

Ritsu cocked an eyebrow. "I already have a guy."

"Easier for him to hug you."

Ritsu looked at the sky again. The sprinkling had paused. "Daishiro's actually not that tall, too. Well, for a guy that is."

"That's perfect for you then."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'll see you later."

"Huh?"

Mio had stopped and was pointing at the convenience store nearby.

"Oh," Ritsu said. "Yeah, see ya."

It would be another fortnight or so before she'd see her again.

**ooooo**

_End of Chapter_

**A/N: I swear I'm not abandoning Arpeggio. Really. It'll just be … slowly, very slowly, updated. Heh heh.**


	2. Chapter 2

.**  
**

**ooooo**

_I'm not wearing a mask  
You would've danced with me if I had_

**ooo**

Ritsu tangled her hand in dark, messy hair as Daishiro's mouth was persistently pressed against hers. Her brow would sometimes twitch in discomfort, not because he was a bad kisser—for it was quite the contrary—but because of the stubble along his chin.

When her cheek was grazed once more, Ritsu pulled back and gasped, "Didn't I freaking tell you to shave?"

She received an indignant look. "You said it looks good on me."

"It stops looking good after I kiss you."

Daishiro swept a thumb over his chin. "I kinda like it." He then shrugged. "'Sides, it makes me feel more like a man. An adult."

"Oh really," Ritsu drawled, "I should stop waxing then. So I can feel less like a girl who hasn't gone through puberty."

There was another half shrug. "Fine, I won't go down on you."

"You've never gone down on me."

"Makes it more absolute, then. And it's not like you do it to me."

Ritsu huffed and shook her head at him. "You just ruined the fucking mood."

"You mean the fucking rain ruined the mood."

"Same shit," Ritsu said decisively. She headed upstairs for Daishiro's room so she could pound away her frustrations on the Wii. Daishiro was right though, the sudden downpour of _warm_ rain was highly unwelcome. Fortunately, they were only five minutes away from his residence when it had had happened.

"Yeah," Daishiro said, having read her intentions, "go and set up. I'm gonna take a bath first. …Unless you've changed your mind?"

Ritsu looked over her shoulder and gave another head shake. "Nah, I'm actually not in the mood today. 'Cause you know, monthlies."

Daishiro's eyebrows shot up. "Oh. Okay. Uh, I'll just take a quick shower then. I'll fill the bath for you if you want."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Ritsu said before climbing the stairs again. She then remembered her manners. "Thanks Daishiro."

"Yeah, yeah. Just go and set up now."

**ooo**

Ritsu didn't know how, but she always managed to forget the hour where high school students were released from classes. Clenching her teeth as one of the tips of her umbrella snagged with another of its kind, she sidestepped and aisled along the edge of the crowded footpath. She pushed back the strong urge to stab the ferrule of her umbrella towards laughter preoccupied bodies.

She wasn't jealous. She was simply annoyed. She was also annoyed with the constant beeping of a car horn that seemed to be becoming louder. Clicking her tongue, she swerved her head towards the irritant and prepared to give one nasty death glare.

Towards a smiling Souta, who sat in the driver's seat of the blaring car.

Apparently he was satisfied that he had finally gotten her attention, because he stopped patting the centre of the steering wheel. He parked at the kerb and Ritsu stopped.

"Need a lift, Frau Ritsu?"

If it had been any other time, she would have declined. But it was raining and she didn't want to spend an awful, humid time in a train packed with loud school-kids. She nodded, closed the umbrella and rounded the car for the front passenger seat.

As soon as she had closed the door, the car accelerated from the kerb and narrowly missed a collision with several pedestrians.

"What the fuck are you doing? !" Ritsu screamed as she held on for dear life.

Souta roared with laughter as he slowed down. "You looked like you wanted to kill them. I just wanted to give them a little scare."

Huffing, Ritsu buckled herself. Souta then gestured towards the bag in her lap. "You went to study somewhere?" he asked.

"No, my clothes are in there."

"Whose clothes are you wearing then? A beggar? Or are they actually yours?"

"My boyfriend's," Ritsu grounded out.

"Your boyfriend's a beggar?"

"Wanna get punched?"

"C'mon, punch me. I dare you." Souta took off his hands from the steering wheel and turned towards her. "C'mon!"

"Keep your hands on the fucking wheel!"

Laughter erupted once more but Souta obeyed her. "Don't worry, ja? I won't kill you. And you need to be with your boyfriend when he shops. I'm sure that my belt is worth twice than his shirt and pants. My belt!"

Ritsu blinked. She then gave Souta an appraising look. His clothes were certainly on a different level to Daishiro's. "Just where do you get the money to buy those?"

"I work. What else? You think I steal or something?" he said with a laugh.

Ritsu huffed. "So if I looked like a beggar to you, how did you recognise me? You've only seen me once."

"I'm good with names. Like, for example, I went to a karaoke party last night. You bring me all the people there and I'll name them all. Only seen most of them twice. And one guy was all surprised that I remembered. I went, 'Who wouldn't remember your scrawny face?' Then he had a go at my hair and eyes."

Ritsu laughed.

"Oh," Souta added, "and I knew it's you 'cause of your height—I mean, your lack of height."

Ritsu scowled. She felt like pointing the umbrella at him this time, but that meant he'd be distracted and she'd die from a car crash. She would like to die from old age.

"You know," she said, "I didn't know you have a car."

"You never asked. What's it to you?"

"You could've dropped Mio and me home last time."

Souta shrugged. "Mio wanted to go home with you. For fresh air or some shit."

Ritsu lifted her eyebrows. "She did?"

Souta flicked her an odd look. "What, she didn't?"

"Yeah, she didn't. She stopped at the convenience store so she could visit her gramps."

Souta sharply inhaled as he took a turn, muttering under his breath, "Not again."

"Have you met her gramps before?"

"No, and I don't plan to any time soon."

"Good idea. He'd hate you."

Souta smirked. "Thanks. Now, say where you're going before I drop you in the middle of nowhere."

**ooo**

"So have you gotten something for Mugi yet?" Ritsu said towards the mouthpiece.

"…She is so hard to buy things for," Mio answered.

Ritsu laughed. "Guess we're making stuff again. I already made a card."

"Yeah, I did too. But I don't know what else to make."

"Make her a cup."

Mio huffed. "When are you ever going to shut up about that?"

Ritsu laughed again. "It's still hilarious for me! First few weeks of your course and you have to design a freaking cup."

"Well I am still quite surprised that you chose Arts too," Mio replied. She had advised her on picking a Business related major and Ritsu had brushed it away. It was naïve of her but she wanted to better her chances on getting into the same course and college as Mio. She ended up on the course she wanted, but it was offered by a university that was the furthest away from the other three. A year later and Azusa joined her, lessening her loneliness somewhat.

"Business is boring."

"Yet you always pull a few dirty tricks whenever you want money."

"That's just a survival skill. And it doesn't require maths."

"You'd rather write a lot of essays?"

"Doesn't every course make you write a lot of essays?"

"Point taken."

"Anyway, I'm great at photography, you know."

"I know too well."

Mio really did know too well. Ritsu had captured countless evidence that Mio was like any other human. The few being: she had a messy room, she was capable of sporting the most amusing bed hair, and she sometimes drooled in her naps whilst still looking adorable.

"Have you talked to Azusa and Yui recently?" Ritsu asked.

"No, have you?"

"Nah. And I'm starting to think Yui dropped off the edge of Earth from eating too much."

"I can't believe she still doesn't gain weight from that."

"That's Yui for you."

"Damn her high metabolism."

Ritsu smiled. She also had a high metabolism, not as high as Yui's but still high enough that she wasn't going to remind Mio about it. She had sounded quite hurt the last time Ritsu had poked fun on her weight. "By the way, I saw your boyfriend today."

"Huh? Oh, Souta. And what did he do?"

"'Sides being a total jackass and almost killing me with that car of his?"

"Did you hit your nose on the windscreen?"

Ritsu blinked. "No?"

"Then you're lucky."

"He made you hit the windscreen? !"

Mio laughed. "No no. He does that to the guys only, apparently. It's a wonder they still enter his car."

"He should be banned from driving."

"He's a lot better at driving than someone I know."

"Hey, put me on a straight road and I'll do fine. Just don't make me turn."

"That's useless then."

"I'll be great on road trips!"

"No you won't. You'll sleep on the wheel."

Ritsu sniggered. "Anyway, Souta said that you wanted to go home with me on that night. So why did you—"

"Wait, what?"

"Huh?"

"What did Souta say?"

"Remember the night when I met him?"

"Yeah…?"

"Yeah. Well he said that you wanted to walk home after. You could've told me he had a car, you know. It started to freaking rain after I left the station."

"And you think I didn't have to walk through the rain?"

"You had an umbrella."

"No, I had to buy one."

"Same thing."

"An umbrella is useless when it's _windy_."

"So why did you buy it then?"

"It wasn't windy when I bought it."

"Tsk, tsk Mio. Excuses, excuses."

"Says the girl that walked without one."

"You know our area doesn't have shops nearby!" There was a sudden signal, which Ritsu had assigned for mail alerts. "Oh hey, wait for a bit."

Just as she had expected, it was from Daishiro. He had been ringing and was wondering when she would end the current call. It had been a few hours. _He can wait 'til tomorrow—or the day after_, Ritsu decided as she punched in her reply.

"Okay, I'm back."

"What happened?"

"Daishiro mailed me."

"He did?"

"Yeah, wanted to know when he could call me but—"

"I should go then."

"Huh?" Ritsu said, "Nah you don't need to."

Mio had already hung up.

**ooo**

Ritsu dangled between Mio and Tsumugi as they waited on Azusa's and Yui's arrival. Azusa had called several minutes prior, in order to inform them that Yui was finding it difficult to stay awake. She had fallen asleep as soon as they had entered the train, and continued to sleep as Azusa shook her shoulders. They were now waiting for the train that would take them back to the station they had initially missed. Yui was quite awake by then.

Ritsu flicked her eyes onto the sixth girl of their soon-to-be gathering. She was around her height and had dyed her shoulder length hair a reddish brown, and she didn't know her. She had surreptitiously caught Mio's eye, but her best friend was adept in ignoring her unspoken question. It must be because she didn't know her too.

Tsumugi had two tote bags at her feet. One was currently holding the presents she had already received from the three girls. And the other, Ritsu decided, was probably holding the tea supplies and food.

When Azusa and Yui had arrived and had given their presents to the birthday girl, they all entered the train that soon followed. It was when they had sat down did they notice the girl at Tsumugi's side. The two shared a glance and then shot Ritsu a look. After Ritsu had shaken her head, they looked at Mio. Mio turned to Tsumugi and said, "Are you okay Mugi? You look tired."

Ritsu watched Azusa's and Yui's faces fall. Tsumugi smiled nervously and replied, "Yes, I am a bit tired. But I'm okay now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Tsumugi repeated with a strained face.

"Who are you?" Yui asked the girl. She was soon treated with a whispered litany in the ear by Azusa.

"I'm Abe Ishiko," the girl answered with a smile, unperturbed by Yui's bluntness. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Ritsu wasn't sure if there was sarcasm laced in those overly polite words, but she was sure the smile was genuine.

Ishiko gave a sturdy look at Tsumugi. Tsumugi seemed to become more fidgety than ever and whispered something to her. Her reply was also whispered but Ritsu caught the words, "No one else is here." Tsumugi then whipped around and smiled nervously again.

"Um," Tsumugi started, "remember I told you guys about an announcement I'm going to make today?"

Azusa and Mio nodded. Yui looked confused. Ritsu suddenly remembered; she had forgotten about that.

"You can do it Mugi," Mio said.

Ritsu gave her a questioning look.

"I would like to say, first, that all of you are my dearest friends, and I don't want to lose any of you."

Ritsu slowly nodded, and she could see the others do the same from her peripherals.

"Itchan, I mean," Tsumugi continued brashly before faltering once more. "Ishiko is my … um Ishiko and I are together," she finished quickly.

The silence blinked. Ritsu stared.

Surprisingly, Yui was the first to speak. "Itchan's your girlfriend?"

Tsumugi visibly relaxed. She nodded repeatedly before she was engulfed in a bear hug from Yui and Azusa, and Ritsu found herself getting up to do the same. But there wasn't enough room so she dangled behind them. She watched Azusa smile, watched Yui pat Tsumugi's head as the blonde went teary-eyed and watched Mio give a small nod towards Ishiko.

"Take care of Mugi for us, will ya?" Ritsu found herself saying.

Ishiko flashed a grin. "Of course I will."

Ritsu nodded numbly. All she could think was—

Nothing.

**ooo**

Mid-way through their karaoke session, Ritsu found that Abe Ishiko was a girl that was quite direct with her words. If she wanted to be the next person to sing, she would say it. So despite the fact that she could barely hold a tune, Ritsu liked that approach, for she was sure that the enigmatic Tsumugi would be in capable hands.

And who would sing, actually sing, in a karaoke session? It was meant for belting out adored lyrics with your entire heart. Ritsu had pounded that into Mio's and, several years later, Tsumugi's heads after they had sung in their too shy, so-in-tone voice of theirs. Azusa, surprisingly, knew the game quickly. But she was always the last one to offer her voice. So after Ishiko had sung, Ritsu grabbed Azusa and a microphone and shoved them together.

"It's time for another duet, Azusa!"

"Okay!" the shortest girl replied, and her inhibition must have naturally worn out that she didn't even stutter. Out of the four, it was only Yui that Ritsu could drink with without restraints. "What did you pick?"

"Let's go with a Perfume song."

"Alright!"

"Lemme join!" Yui cried. She reached across the table for a microphone and almost toppled a few drinks over in the process. "Three for three!"

"Good thinking!" Ritsu answered as she brought Yui into a headlock. She then looked over her shoulder. Mio was rubbing her throat as she chatted with Ishiko, and Tsumugi was grinning and staring at her. She seemed to be mouthing something.

"Ritsu-sempai! The song's started already!"

Ritsu swiftly turned around, bumping foreheads with Yui, and gave a lopsided grin. "Sorry, sorry."

Azusa shook her head at her. Tsumugi's laughter could be heard and Yui was already singing. They weren't on any guitars, keyboards or drum sets; they weren't singing their own songs and Budokan was going to stay back at their high school hall forever.

But it was great to be together again.

**ooo**

"So how does it feel to be 21, Mugi-chan?" Yui asked during the train home.

Tsumugi giggled. "You've asked me that every year, Yui-chan. It doesn't feel like I've grown a year older at all."

"I guess the excitement really dies after you've hit twenty, huh?" Ritsu commented.

"It does," Ishiko said, "and to be honest, Mugi-chan here would have forgotten her own birthday if it wasn't for me and her father."

"Oh!" Yui gasped, "What did your dad give you, Mugi-chan?"

Ishiko snickered. "A gathering of gorgeous, professional-looking, virgin males."

Tsumugi softly smacked her on the arm. "Itchan!" She then gave a sweeping glance to the rest of the group and explained, "My father had personally selected several suitors for me. I met them yesterday."

"Last night," Ishiko corrected.

Just as Ritsu asked Ishiko, "Aren't you supposed to be jealous?" Mio asked Tsumugi, "Is everything … fine?"

Tsumugi nodded. "I told Dad that I have higher expectations. He seems to have accepted that for now. But don't worry," she added when Mio looked worried, "the plan is going accordingly well."

Ritsu's gaze went from Ishiko to Tsumugi. "What plan?"

She was rewarded with another one of those mysterious Tsumugi smiles. But Ritsu inwardly smirked, remembering that she had seen her hidden side today. It had been a long time since she had seen Tsumugi become so nervous. Finding herself drifting away to memories of their first live house show, she shook herself and focused back on the present.

"We're about to reach our stop, Ritsu," Mio said.

"Ah." Ritsu stood up and sluggishly glanced around her. "Today was fun guys. We should do this again soon. And I mean soon. Not several months later."

They all laughed, until Mio covered her mouth with both hands as she hacked up. Ritsu glanced at her worriedly. She had been coughing irregularly today, and she hoped she wasn't getting sick from the rainy season. That meant she might be next.

"Can I join next time?" Ishiko asked.

"Yeah sure," Ritsu replied with a grin. She looked at Azusa and Yui who were nodding feverishly—well, feverishly on Yui's part.

"Feel free to join any time, Itchan!" Yui said, "A friend of Mugi-chan's a friend of ours."

"Great! Thanks."

After they had said their goodbyes, Mio stood up and waited alongside Ritsu by the train doors as the running scenery outside ceased. Another round of goodbyes and Mio and Ritsu stepped off.

"Today went by too fast," Ritsu commented.

"Yeah," Mio said, sounding as if she was far away, "it did."

Ritsu turned to look at her. She was definitely thinking about something. "Hey," Ritsu began, "that wasn't the first time you met Ishiko, huh?"

Mio was startled from her thoughts. "Huh, what? Oh. Yeah, it wasn't."

"So you also knew about Mugi being, uh, a lesbian, yeah?"

"…Yeah."

Ritsu nodded. No big deal. Just another thing she was kept out of the loop until much later. It was better than never. And she had to agree with Tsumugi, as long as they stayed friends and kept in contact….

"You're okay with her, right?" Mio suddenly asked. "Nothing's changed or anything?"

"Eh? 'Course not. Mugi's Mugi." Ritsu took a deep breath and continued, "I was pretty shocked, actually, and I still am. Though I guess that explained why Mugi never told me anything when it came to her love life. Good for her, I guess."

She heard Mio take a deep breath of her own. "Okay," she said shortly.

"Weren't you shocked?"

"Um … I guess I was."

Ritsu stopped walking. Mio was lagging behind. "Is something wrong, Mio?"

"Huh?"

"You keep on dazing off."

Mio looked as if she was going to suffer from one of her panic attacks. "It's nothing. Really. I was just thinking."

"I can see that."

Mio took another deep breath and resolutely walked on. Ritsu followed.

Another lagging moment later: "Ritsu."

"Yeah?"

"We're best friends, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Ritsu replied, refraining to add a _duh_ at the end. Since when did Mio become so clingy? Not since high school…. And Mio had just muttered something she didn't catch. Well she did but she didn't think she did.

_Ugh._

Ritsu needed to ask. "What?"

Mio stopped and began to wrestle her thumbs. Ritsu then again followed suit, minus the thumb fidgeting.

"I said I'm a bian too."

Ritsu blinked. So she did catch it.

They stood there in the middle of their usual route for a strained moment. Ritsu had wanted to bear hug her, but she knew how Mio felt about such acts. Then she remembered, and asked, "Souta's a girl?"

Mio laughed. The first few, fluttering sounds were awkward but as soon as Ritsu had joined in, they were back to normal.

"If he'd heard that, he'd kill you."

"It's a mutual thing then. 'Cause I felt like killing him too."

"Mutual thing indeed. I do feel like choking him sometimes." She then saw Ritsu's questioning look and added, "We're not together. It was just an act. I'm not with anyone."

Ritsu slowly nodded. Then she jerked up and stared at Mio with wide eyes. "Wait, don't tell me that Souta's—"

Mio helplessly laughed again. "No no. He's straight. He's a bit touchy for a guy though."

"That's foreigners for you," Ritsu said with a grin. So Ya-Jackass wasn't dating her best friend. Life was good.

Mio started walking again, quite briskly this time that Ritsu had to jog a bit to match her pace. Mio's forearm was above shoulder level, and Ritsu knew she was trying to secretly wipe away her tears.

"So," Mio said, almost whimpering, "you don't find me gross or immature or anything?"

Ritsu felt her eyebrows rise. _Immature?_ She gave a mental shake and said as sincerely as possible, "You're one of the most mature people I know, Mio."

Mio laughed again before she hit another coughing fit. Ritsu bit her lip and asked, "Are you sick?"

"No," Mio wheezed out, "and I hope I'm not coming down with something. Break's around the corner but I don't want to skip out any days."

"Ah okay. So," Ritsu said, slinging her arm over Mio's shoulders; she didn't mind getting out of college a few weeks earlier, "how come you didn't tell me this before?" She then injected a bit of hurt into her voice, "I'm your best friend, aren't I?"

Rubbing the area just below her collarbones, Mio replied weakly, "It's not like I actually knew all along. I, um, I didn't really accept it until we graduated."

"Oh," Ritsu said, too busy revelling in the feeling of not getting thwacked on the head. Her ego would've taken a huge fall if that was to happen. Souta didn't get a head thwack, so she shouldn't too.

Mio suddenly sighed. "I'm pathetic. I'm not going to get married and I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life."

Ritsu blinked. Now that she had thought of it, she'd never really paid much attention to Mio's love life. Or lack thereof, apparently. She had teased her on when she was ever going to meet Souta, but he turned out to be just a friend. She needed to object.

"No you won't Mio. You're a pretty girl, any gu—girl would be lucky to have you."

"I don't know about that."

"You will! I'll even help you. Though you and Mugi are the only girl lovers I know."

Mio snorted in amusement, making Ritsu feel a bit better that she had broken her gloom there. But she immediately backtracked after she had made such a comment. She had often helped Mio in finding the perfect prince for her, and she had always failed. Not because Mio had disapproved of the boys she had suggested—but because Mio had always managed to squeeze her way out of the blind dates with a legitimate excuse. It was either because she was already taken, or … she was already taken.

When they waved goodbye at their parting spot, Ritsu saw Mio repeat, "I'm not with anyone," instead of the complementary line. They turned around and continued their way home. Ritsu took a few steps, looked over her shoulder and watched Mio walk the opposite direction. And she hoped the unease wasn't disgust just then. She was feeling too hollow for that.

Ritsu sighed as she entered her room, flicking on the lights and fishing around in her handbag for her phone. As usual, there was a mail from Daishiro. How was the party? The karaoke? Maybe they should try that one day.

Replying that the party was great, the birthday girl was happy and the karaoke entertaining, she ignored the lack of her usual adverbs and ended the mail with an apology. She wasn't in the mood for conversation, tonight.

Karaoke for four hours straight could do that to you.

**ooooo**

_End of Chapter_

**A/N**: **Heh, 'gross'. I'm still reeling from that comment Ritsu made in the K-ON! OVA.**

**I was hoping I could post this in a few days time after it's fully beta-ed, but I'm afraid my break would soon be over. So I'm posting it now. If you see a typo or something, do tell me. This is gonna be my last update 'til July.**

**Notes**:  
— Frau: German honorific for Ms.  
— Bian: Short form of lesbian, obviously. Mio would've liked to get her coming out over and done with and slipped into slang.  
— Ya-Jackass: Lol, Ritsu making fun of Souta, what with his many 'ja's.


	3. Chapter 3

.**  
**

**ooooo**

_And I slowly realised  
that all this time_

**ooo**

_Has Mio ever dated anyone?_ Ritsu thought.

It would explain why Mio was hardly ever busy with anything but studies whenever Ritsu invited her out. That was, unless she had been lying about that too.

Ritsu wondered just how much her childhood friend had lied to her over the past few years. How many friends like Souta had she made? Friends that she had probably confided her problems in. Problems that she didn't share with Ritsu.

Ritsu stared at the latest roll of negatives she had developed and frowned at how dark they were. She sighed and threw them towards the bin, missing by a whole foot. She stayed on her backside and huffed. She wasn't going to take pictures when she wasn't in the mood ever again; it was a waste of film. She rested against the side of her bed and stared at the wall.

So Mio realised she swung that way after they had graduated high school. So how about before that? Were all the little crushes they shared during junior high lies too? Or were they true and some jackass broke Mio's heart and she jumped to the other side?

_Nah, she said it was during senior high. I know for sure that she wasn't hiding anything from me then. There's no way she could hide a broken heart. She's not like Mugi. Actually, I don't think _Mugi_ could hide that too._

Tsumugi was with Ishiko now. And Tsumugi was amazingly evasive whenever Ritsu even _thought_ of asking about her personal life. She'd always felt guilty that she was happy to dish out the dirty details whilst Tsumugi remained a happy listener. Actually, it was odd how she had shared such details with Tsumugi but not Mio. Maybe it was because she didn't like to be called a shameless pervert. Mio could've been old-fashioned.

_Turns out that she isn't, huh?_

Ritsu hated being out of the loop on things. She was lying to herself when she'd thought she didn't mind being told now of all times than never. There was one instance where she had bumped into Azusa for the first time on campus, and she'd inquired on the boy Azusa was supposedly seeing. She had heard it from Tsumugi, but she hadn't had the chance to grab the full details. So what was better than hearing it from the first-hand source?

At the end, it had turned out that Azusa wasn't with the boy.

Because they had broken up the week before.

It was a very unpleasant moment. Especially when Azusa's tears appeared and Ritsu was suddenly comforting the younger girl. In the following evening, Tsumugi was called and berated at for forgetting to mention such a thing.

From then on, Tsumugi was much more forthcoming when it came to recent happenings.

But her love life remained unknown until now. During that time, Ritsu had even convinced herself that maybe Tsumugi was like Yui, who was happily single. She had even thrown Mio into the bandwagon despite her old-school ramblings on marriage.

Now, just when Tsumugi was a year into her adulthood, Ritsu was told the two were simply playing with the other instruments.

Ritsu really hated being kept in the dark.

_I mean, I once thought—I can't believe I'm thinking of this again—that I might, just might, like girls. But I don't. I mean, I have a guy and the sex is great, and even if I did like—whatever—I'd tell, right?_

Right. And now Ritsu was feeling an incoming headache from too much thinking. She desperately needed a nap. So she yawned, got to her feet and slithered under the bedcovers, making herself comfortable.

She closed her eyes and waited for sweet sleep.

It did not come.

She turned over and rested her cheek against a cool patch on her pillow, sighing in content. It was very comfy.

But she could not sleep. She was also becoming restless, and then:

_Did Mio go out with Mugi?_

All of a sudden, flashbacks from the last several years hammered her eyes. Flashbacks of seeing Mio and Tsumugi together, whispering things she could not hear, and if she could, did not understand. Mio and Tsumugi who often huddled together, with Azusa at either side, as Ritsu joked around with Yui. Mio and Tsumugi, who both liked girls.

It was all too much. Sleep was never going to claim her at this rate.

_Is that why they took so long to tell me…?_

Ritsu sat up. After some hesitation, she fished for her phone and speed dialled Tsumugi's number before she could think again.

"Hello Ricchan. How are you?"

"Hey and, uh, I dunno. I feel—I have a question, Mugi."

"Okay," Tsumugi replied, ever warmly.

Ritsu started to think again. "Actually, forget it. I'm feeling great. How 'bout you?"

"Quite good."

"And Ishiko?"

"She's good too."

"Okay."

Ritsu had a feeling Tsumugi wasn't going to forget her unspoken question any time soon. "Ricchan, you can ask me anything, you know."

So she was right. After thinking things through, Ritsu took a deep breath and asked, quite timidly, "Has … Mio told you anything?"

There was a chance that she wasn't really late in things, and Mio had hidden some things from Tsumugi too, and maybe—

"Is it safe to assume Mio-chan told you something?"

—_just maybe—_

"That she's single and, uh…."

—_they weren't—_

"Isn't looking for a boyfriend?"

—_together._

"You know then."

"Yes."

"…Did you two go out or something?"

"…Yes."

Ritsu felt her stomach drop.

There was sudden laughter in her ear. "Just kidding, Ricchan! No, we didn't."

Ritsu released a shaky breath. "Ah."

This was good news! She wasn't completely out of the loop, after all! The two stayed better as friends anyway. Friendship has more chances on lasting longer.

"Mio-chan is like a sister to me. We don't have any siblings so it's a bit harder for us. We need each other for support."

Ritsu was brought back to Earth. "Support? Oh, right, because you both, uh, yeah. Only kid and all."

"Yes," Tsumugi said, "We love our parents, Ricchan, and we don't want to hurt them. Intentionally hurt them, of course."

"Yeah." Ritsu could just imagine Mio wallowing over that. If her parents knew their lovely and only daughter wasn't planning to get married, oh the horror. Add Mio's traditional grandfather and it was indescribable. Tsumugi wallowing, on the other hand, was a disturbing thought. The girl was full of smiles and Jasmine tea.

_Her dad sounds nice too. I mean, a group of hot guys in suits on his daughter's birthday…? Dad wouldn't do that if he had the power._

"Ricchan?"

"Oh. You were saying?"

"Why did you think Mio and I had dated?"

"I dunno," Ritsu mumbled. She raised her voice. "You guys seem pretty close and…."

_Why _did_ it take you guys so long to tell us?_

"I wanted to tell you guys sooner," Tsumugi piped up, reading her mind. "But you know how paranoid Mio-chan can be. She was scared we'd end up disbanding."

"Heh," Ritsu chuckled, having long been used to Tsumugi's talent of being in the same wavelength as others. "We already are."

"We weren't at the time, Ricchan."

"I don't see how we could've disbanded…," Ritsu trailed off when she remembered the indistinct time of that unfortunate milestone. They had lessened their practices when entrance exams came around, and by the time they were done with said exams—they were so relieved that they went and did everything but practise together. That meant….

"You wanted to tell after we started college?" Ritsu asked, almost incredulously. "Minus Azusa, I mean."

There was silence at the other end of the line.

"Mugi?"

"Sorry, I was trying to remember. Yes, around then sounds about right."

"So why did Mio think we'd disband? It wasn't like we'd magically get the time and chance to practise together if you had told us."

"She feared I wouldn't be accepted … actually, I think it was because she was still scared about herself. Has she told you when she realised she's gay yet?"

Ritsu grimaced. Tsumugi was apparently very comfortable talking about this. "Uh, yeah. She did. Uh … when we graduated or something."

"Yup. And even then she wanted to deny it at times."

Ritsu munched on that line of thought. Where was _she_ during those _times_? "She could've confided in me," Ritsu finally muttered.

"Ricchan, you know Mio-chan has trouble admitting her problems to even herself."

Ritsu clenched her teeth. She felt like asking Tsumugi if she knew about Souta, and the existence of friends Mio had made over the last three years. But she didn't want to hear the possible answer. So instead, she repeated, "She still could've told me. I mean, you knew about it."

"Ricchan—"

"I'm Mio's best friend—her _childhood_ friend," Ritsu cut in, "I've known her for so many years. It's not like I'm gonna leave her or anything if she'd told me she had a pro—"

"Mio-chan's lucky."

Ritsu ignored the little gasp that followed. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, it … it doesn't go so well for others. When they tell their friends, it's often the last conversation they'll have.

"Sometimes, it's the last, friendly conversation they'll have."

Ritsu blankly stared ahead. For some inexplicable reason, she was feeling faint. She heard herself mumble, "Mio thought I'd be like them?"

"Some of us think like that, Ricchan. Please don't be offended."

"I'm not. I'm just…," Ritsu trailed off when she realised her eyes were burning. Rapidly blinking back the awful dread, she temporarily pulled it out of her mind. "Okay, yeah, I get it." She then tried to think it in their perspective and continued, feeling the words resound in her hollow head. "I guess … if I were in your shoes I … yeah, I guess it'd be hard for me to tell."

Tsumugi's voice became contemplative. "And if they were brave enough, they get burnt."

"Is Ishiko one of them?" Ritsu asked before she could stop herself.

Tsumugi's reply was truly hesitant. "Yes."

"Okay," Ritsu said, steering clear from that topic. She didn't like to make Tsumugi uncomfortable. It rarely happened and it often made her feel like a bully. "Anyway, I'll be going now."

"Okay, I'll see you later." There was a smile that Ritsu could see in her mind's eye. "Hopefully soon."

Ritsu barked a laugh. "Yeah. Yeah, soon. See ya later."

After the beep, Ritsu gave a long sigh. She couldn't even partake in long phone conversations with Tsumugi now. She kind of felt like she was taking away her time with Ishiko.

But, Ritsu honestly hoped their relationship would last. Tsumugi needed someone who wasn't scared of her unpredictable evading tactics. Mio wasn't the only one that was bad in sharing problems; Tsumugi was worse.

**ooo**

It was very strange how the person who shared similar views with Ritsu of the world, life and everything in general, ended up being the friend that was teetering on the line of the past. The last time Ritsu had called Yui on the phone was a good two years ago. They kept in contact through the others and they partied together, but it was seldom and it just wasn't the same.

On the other hand, it was amazing how Ritsu and Azusa studied at the same campus, but they have only seen each other a few times. Then again, their schedules always conflicted with one another and Ritsu was not one to stay at an educational institute longer than necessary.

Today was Wednesday, which meant Azusa was having the day off. So Ritsu thought it was strange when she found her at the cafeteria, flipping through her textbook with the air of irritation. She could've stayed at home.

Settling her bag at the foot of the metallic table, Ritsu smiled at Azusa's squeak of surprise and sat in the seat across from her.

"Ritsu, you scared me."

"Hey to you too," Ritsu said, happy that she had managed to make the girl forget the usual honorific. She always told her to drop it now that they weren't in high school any more. It felt sentimentally odd.

Azusa scanned around Ritsu. "Where's Reina-san?"

"She's sick so she's at home. Why aren't you at home? I thought it's your day off."

"Yeah, I thought it was too," Azusa grumbled. "A classmate of mine called me up this morning, and yelled in my ear about a study session. There's an exam that I didn't know about so I kinda panicked and, well…," she trailed off and heavily sighed.

Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "You guys hold study sessions at the cafeteria?"

"I was at the library," Azusa muttered, "and I don't think I can show my face over there ever again now."

"How come? You exploded a textbook or something?"

Azusa gave her an unamused look. "It's a long story, Sempai."

"I'm all ears, Azusa-chan."

"Please don't call me that."

"Then stop calling me with _that_."

Azusa pouted. "Okay, if you want to listen to me complain."

Ritsu was really interested now. "Yeah, go ahead. What happened?"

"Well," Azusa started, exhaling heavily before she began her allegedly long tale, "the classmate I mentioned, let's call her Girl A—"

"Have you been watching crime dramas or something?"

"Shut up, Ritsu-sempai."

"Okay, Azusa-chan."

Azusa huffed. "Do you not want to listen?"

"I'll listen."

"Okay. Um, so Girl A wanted to hold a last-minute study session. She actually just copies my notes and asks me to explain some things she doesn't understand. Usually, I don't mind this, especially not this morning. Because if she hadn't told me about this upcoming exam, I would've been completely unprepared.

"But today, as soon as she entered, she started to talk about things that weren't related to work. She … apparently one of her friends came out and she'd just gotten news of it this morning."

Ritsu raised her brow.

"It didn't end up being a study session at all," Azusa continued heatedly as she glanced around her, "she was just using me as some rant doll or something, worrying whether her friend had peeked at her when they took public baths together, what might've happened on one of their overnight school trips and … argh. She just kept on talking and _talking_."

_What a bitch_, Ritsu thought. There was an apparent lull in Azusa's speech, so she then asked, "So what did you do?"

"…I screamed at her."

"You just screamed? Without any, like, words?"

Azusa stared at her textbook and hesitated.

_Oh, this must be __**good**__._

"C'mon Azusa, what did you say?"

"I … I said that she should pull her head out of her ass."

Ritsu snorted.

"I was quite agitated," Azusa said quickly, "Anyone in my shoes would've said something similar. I—"

"No no, I'm just shocked that you finally grew some. I knew you had it in you!"

Azusa's mouth quirked sideways. Shaking her head, she muttered, "I tried to keep it down, but then Girl A slipped out her name and—"

"Whose name?"

"Ishiko-san's."

Ritsu stared at Azusa blankly before her reply registered. "Ohhh…."

_What a small world._

"I was thinking how," Azusa continued abashedly, "how if she had met Mugi-sempai and had said such things to her. And what Mugi-sempai would've looked like…."

Ritsu, recalling Tsumugi's tears, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I get what you mean. It'd make anyone want to kick that girl's ass down."

"Yeah," Azusa said. They then sat in companionable silence before Azusa looked at her phone and asked, "How long's your break?"

"What time is it?"

"Nearly 1."

"Plenty of time then. Are you gonna stay here?"

Azusa nodded.

"Cool," Ritsu said.

It was time to catch up.

**ooo**

_"And if they were brave enough, they get burnt."_

Ritsu chewed at the end of her pen as she stared at, but did not read, the assignment notification in front of her.

_Ishiko got burnt pretty bad, huh?_

If Ritsu was to be completely honest, she had once shared the same beliefs as Girl A. Ritsu had believed lesbians either had a traumatic experience with a boy or they just couldn't get one no matter what, so they inevitably gave up. They went and obliviously pursued others that were also uninterested. During that time, she would have acted the same way if she was to ever associate with someone who identified themselves as one.

But when she saw Tsumugi's tears, she was completely blank of thought. Instead she felt; she strongly felt that she needed to protect her dear friend from the contagious cruelty of society. There were already the snide comments behind hands due to Tsumugi's mixed heritage and social status, and even though they were becoming less frequent as time progressed and relationships have deepened, Ritsu was dubious the third reason would be quite as well disregarded.

She had even mildly entertained the thought that Tsumugi was pulling her leg. That Tsumugi was a superb actress, and she would turn around at the end of the day and they'd do a quick exchange in the Kansai dialect.

But when Mio came out of nowhere and confessed she was in the same boat as Tsumugi, Ritsu's darkly painted imagery of lesbians was tugged at and washed away. Two pretty girls who were of reasonable height and had inadvertently snagged a male admirer here and there, it boggled Ritsu's mind.

And it had apparently boggled the mind of Girl A too.

…_I hope __**I'm**__ being a good friend._

She glanced at her phone. It had been a few days since she had mailed Mio. Now was a good time to do so.

It was until she had sent a 'Hey, whatcha doing?' message did she realise she could've answered that question herself. It was nearly 6 p.m. and Mio would be in the middle of an evening class.

She grimaced when the phone quickly buzzed with the reply.

She was going to get told off. She could feel it. Feel the apprehension as she opened the mail and read it aloud:

"I hate the cold."

Ritsu stared at the words.

Even though they were in the rainy season, the day had been thoroughly warm and there was absolutely no wind. _So how could Mio feel—_Ritsu gave a bark and fell onto the ground, rolling in laughter. After a good minute of amusement, she speed dialled Mio's number.

Mio's voice was subdued and raspy. "Hello?"

"Whoa," Ritsu gaped, "you sound terrible."

"Thanks…."

"So I guess you're home."

Mio groaned. "Anything else, genius?"

"Can I come over?"

"What? No!" There was a disruptive cough and Ritsu could hear Mio's fingers covering the transmitter. After a few moments, they retreated and Mio muttered, "Can I talk to you later?"

"Tired?"

"A bit."

Ritsu laughed. "Okay, I'll see you later then."

"Un."

Ritsu pocketed the phone as soon as the call ended. She then skimmed the assignment sheet and hummed in appreciation. It was due just before break, which was two weeks from now.

It was time to visit the Akiyama residence.

**ooo**

"Oh, hello Ricchan," Ms Akiyama greeted at the door. She moved aside for Ritsu to enter the household.

"Hi Aki-oba-san. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. If you're here to see Mio, she's sick right now."

Ritsu nodded. "Yeah, I just called her. I'm giving her a surprise visit."

"Is that so?" Ms Akiyama said, lowering her voice, "Well please go ahead. She's been refusing to get out of her room unless she needs to use the lavatory."

Ritsu grinned. "You make it sound like I'm gonna drag her outside."

The woman smiled. "No, I'm expecting her to pass the cold to you. Maybe that way she'd be better by tomorrow." She then gave Ritsu a dubious look. "You came over so you could catch it, didn't you? Isn't break coming soon?"

Ritsu loudly whistled as she made for the stairs. "In a couple of weeks, yeah."

She smirked when she faintly heard, "It's not good to whistle at night, Ricchan."

_Like mother, like daughter._

The door to Mio's room was slightly ajar, so she nudged it wider and peered in. There was a futon where the low table was usually at, and it was all lumpy by a human body in the foetal position.

"Mio?"

The lump distorted and Mio's head appeared. "What—what are you doing here? !"

The exclamation was ragged and wasn't at loud as it was supposed to be. So Mio soon hacked up, giving Ritsu a good image of what a coughing cocoon would look like. A gigantic cocoon with messy, dark hair.

Ritsu tiptoed towards the futon and peeled off its blanket, just enough so she could see Mio's face. "I wanted to visit ya."

Mio wrenched the blanket back over her head. "Go home, moron."

Ritsu frowned. Mio was being a lot more moody today.

_Well she __**is**__ sick…._

"Think you'd be better by tomorrow?" Ritsu asked softly.

The cocoon mumbled before it spouted hair again. "Do you wanna get sick or something?"

Ritsu looked at Mio, who ducked under the covers again. She was pale and her hair was tangled and oily. "Uh, I kinda did but not any more."

"Fuck you."

Ritsu grinned. "Keep going, Mio! You're totally gonna be okay tomorrow if you keep going."

Mio peeked out to glare at her.

"C'mon," Ritsu said, "I'm here to give you the best medicine, laughter! So laugh!" She then grabbed the ends of her fringe and placed them above her mouth.

Mio looked as if she was going to comply, but all that came out were coughs.

Ritsu winced. "Uh … or maybe not."

After she had recovered, Mio grumbled, "Staying at home sucks."

"Of course it is for nerds like you."

"Shut up," Mio sniffed.

"No really, I like getting sick during this time."

"And the missed work?"

"I hate that part."

Ritsu smiled at the replied chuckle. "Your throat's okay now?" she asked.

Mio blinked at her. She seemed to swallow before she replied, "Yeah. Kinda. It's still a bit sore."

"I remember you kept on rubbing it on Mugi's birthday."

Mio sighed. "That really should've told me I was gonna get sick."

Ritsu gave a bark of laughter. "You're always like that. You'll be coughing or sneezing and when I ask if you're sick, you deny it. Guess what happens the day after?"

"Shut up," Mio muttered, "You're like that too."

Mio was right. They were pretty stubborn people.

"Are you going home yet?"

Ritsu raised an eyebrow; Mio was still stubborn about that. She shook her head and asked, "D'ya want me to go?"

"You're twisting the question."

"Nah, I'm just answering it with another."

Mio sighed.

"C'mon Mio, you always stay by my side when I'm sick."

"Because you forced me to."

Ritsu dramatically gasped in dismay. "You would dare accuse me of that when I'm _sick_?"

Mio stared unamusingly at her. "You're gonna be bored soon."

"Huh? How?"

"'Cause I want to sleep."

Ritsu stood up to close the curtains. It was six-thirty and the sun was still visible. "Then go to sleep. I'll just read something. I'll try to be quiet."

Mio's face betrayed some hints of a smile before she retreated to her home-made cave. "You'd better not make any noise. I'll throttle you if you do."

Ritsu laughed. "Okay, okay." She sat next to Mio again and watched the lump steadily rise and fall—watched her breathe and rest.

She glanced around the room, not taking in the slight differences that had occurred since her last visit. She looked back and continued to watch. Mio had shifted and finally revealed her head again, but she was facing away and lying on her side. For a brief moment, Ritsu had considered in reaching for Mio's hand—just like she had always did for her when the roles were reversed. But Ritsu was content is staying where she was.

Anyway, Mio's hands were still hidden. And it was easy for them to become cold in the open air. Not to mention, Mio didn't seem to be in the mood for even the simplest, physical touches of friendship today. Quite reasonable enough; she was sick and probably didn't want to spread it.

Ritsu just hoped it wasn't because of the other reason that had been niggling away in her mind since yesterday.

Because during senior high, Ritsu had once thought she was attracted to Mio. It had stopped as quickly as it came, oh so thankfully, but the secret was still going to stay with her to the grave.

It was just hormones anyway.

**ooo**

"Wanna do something new?" Ritsu whispered after she had broken the heated kiss.

Daishiro sluggishly stared at her. "What?" he rasped out.

Ritsu pressed the heel of her palm against the bulge in his pants, smirking at the induced groan. "You said I'd never sucked you off, right?"

"Yeah and…?"

Ritsu sat up and pulled off his clothes from the waist down. "So what if I do?"

Daishiro's eyebrows shot up, and Ritsu felt him harden under her hands. "You're serious?"

"Yeah." Ritsu lowered her head, darting her tongue out. "But I'm expecting something back, you know," she added deliberately.

"Alright," Daishiro said, resting on his forearms as he watched her. He then froze and asked, "You've uh, waxed right?"

He then flinched; Ritsu had answered by dragging her teeth against him.

**ooooo**

_End of Chapter_

**A/N**: ***puts up anti-bullet barrier***

**Sooo, it seems FFnet doesn't like hyphens being used as scene breaks. It also doesn't like exclamation marks and questions marks being next to each other. Oh joy.**

**BTW, I haven't caught up with the second season. I'm still on ep 4; so, please don't spoil me. Lemme see the Mitsu subtext with my own yurigoggles and squee like a little kid first. I'm contemplating whether I should finish two one-shots and the 'third'/fourth chapter of Arpeggio before I can allow myself to catch up. I probably will. So whilst I satisfy this sudden craving of playing the Sims 3 and work on my collection in getting all 16 badges in SoulSilver, I'll work on said three pieces. **

**=3**

**Don't worry, Sims 3 will only last a few days. You should worry about the Pokemon one.**

**Notes**:  
— Aki-oba-san (Aunt Aki) sounds like something Ritsu would say? :3  
— It's a Japanese superstition that you'd be healed from a cold if you were to pass it to someone else. Great example is when Yui caught it from Ritsu after she had visited her. Or when Ui offered to take the cold from Yui….  
— They also believe whistling at night brings in the snakes (thieves). Though it really is just a warning from parents to kids to keep the noise down and not bother the neighbours. I like to think that's how Mio got her paranoia from—her seemingly superstitious mother who, according to Yui, packs cute lunchboxes for her. :D


	4. Chapter 4

.**  
**

**ooooo**

_I'm not in this  
Masquerade_

**ooo**

"Are these the _only_ notes you have?" Kondo Reina said, looking incredulously at Ritsu. She was holding the other brunette's notebook, on the page that contained several sentence fragments and doodling.

Ritsu faked a nervous giggle. "I thought it was a tutorial," she explained, pointing at a caricature of their lecturer. At Reina's unamused stare, she added, "Oh c'mon! You know how she is. She's like, the solution to insomnia."

Reina continued to stare at her.

Ritsu quickly flapped a hand in-between them, as if to rid the awkward silence. "Anyway, why don't you just ask her for the pages she was going on about?"

"Because she'd tell me to ask _you_."

"Oh yeah," Ritsu said with a grin. When Reina glowered at her, Ritsu held up her hands in defence. "Hey, hey. I know that at least! It's pages 245 to 261 of the blue book … uh wait, I think 267? I dunno, just read chapter 11."

Reina huffed. "You could've just told me that in the first place."

"Where's the fun in that?"

A rubber was thrown at Ritsu. Ritsu picked it up from the floor and pocketed it before she meandered over to Reina's bookshelf. After skimming through the many volumes, she glanced at Reina. The other girl was perusing the blue textbook as she tied up her hair into a side ponytail.

Ritsu blinked at the double image.

It definitely wasn't the first time Reina reminded her of Mio. They shared many traits, gravitating parental people like Ritsu towards them.

But there were, of course, some differences that erase the double image away. There were times where Ritsu could see the perceptible quiver of Mio's lips during her silly antics. And sometimes, even if Ritsu couldn't find it or didn't want to look for it, the infectious laughter (or snort) would have given it away.

Reina—most of the time—would stare at her. Sometimes she would play scientist, examining each minute detail before saying something that would ruin Ritsu's mood. The worst thing was: Reina had never known she was dissecting jokes.

Ritsu did like Reina's company though. She was a good inch taller than her.

"So," Ritsu said, "tell me which manga you didn't touch when you were sick."

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"You're so lame."

Ritsu took a step back, in shock. She pointed at the bookshelf. "You have _Doraemon_ too?"

Reina swung around with flushed cheeks. "They're my brother's!" she stammered.

"Reina," Ritsu deadpanned, "He has his own bookshelves to store his stuff on. Why would he—"

"I'm serious! He reads them."

"But do you?"

"I … argh."

Ritsu cracked a smile. "Gee, calm down. I read them too. Even my parents do."

"I told you I don't read it!"

Ritsu was bordering on laughing until her stomach hurt. "You didn't tell me that. You just told me they're Ren's."

Reina seemed to have decided to ignore the brunette's taunting, for she returned to her readings. "I hate you," she muttered.

"Sugiyama loves you too."

"Shut up!"

Ritsu snickered as she watched a dictionary happily fly over her shoulder. Mentioning the name of Reina's crush always produced entertaining results.

Soon there was the sound of a highlighter against paper and Ritsu returned to the many volumes of _Doraemon_. Just as she was about to ask Reina if she could re-borrow the last few, the girl spoke up.

"Hey…."

"Yeah?"

"What's it like?" Reina asked quietly, "Being with a guy."

Ritsu mused over the answer to that question. An innocent answer, due to the sensitivity of the given situation. "Why are you asking me?" she finally said, flicking through the pages of the volume she had pulled out. "You read shoujo manga. Don't they tell you that stuff?"

"Shoujo manga isn't like real life, though. Real life doesn't have that much drama and sparkles."

Ritsu snorted. She couldn't pass this opportunity. "Yeah, you're right. But you might see _sparkles_ if you're in bed with the guy."

"I really hope you're sparing me the sordid details of your love life."

Ritsu peered over the comic book. Reina's facial structure was all rigid and sharp angles. "I mean," her friend continued, "it's the only thing I hear you talk, actually talk about, when it comes to Daishiro-kun. I mean—"

"No I don't," Ritsu said immediately. "I do talk other stuff about him. But I try not to."

Reina raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Ritsu averted her eyes. She didn't like this. She knew Reina would see her next answer as unwanted pity. "I didn't want to remind you, you know," she mumbled, "that you're single."

There was a tense silence.

Reina laughed.

"That's it? Oh, Ricchan, you can tell me all this 'stuff'," Reina said with air quotations, "as much as you want. It's okay."

But it wasn't okay. Because Ritsu's answer was just an excuse—she simply couldn't talk about this _stuff_ she had so eloquently described.

_And how come she only laughs when I'm all awkward?_

"By the way," Reina said, "can you give me back my rubber?"

Ritsu shook her head and patted her pocket. "I'm thinking … no."

**ooo**

"Hey," Ritsu said on the phone later that day, she didn't allow herself to pause lest she'd hesitate and abort mission, "how did you meet Souta?"

"Souta?" Mio said in slight surprise. "Oh … I met his sister first."

"His sister?" Ritsu parroted. She was disappointed with herself when she felt unease deep in her stomach. "Uh, were you two—did you go out with her?"

Mio laughed; Ritsu recalled the conversation she had with Tsumugi the week before. She frowned at the third wheel feeling.

"No, no," Mio answered amidst giggles, "she's married."

"Huh? She's that old?"

"She's a year older than Sou—wait … she's just a year older than us."

Judging from Mio's tone, she was just as startled as Ritsu. She ignored the reminder in both of their minds and went for something almost unrelated. "Are you two even friends?"

"Um, kind of," Mio tentatively said. "And I know how old she is. I just, you know, realised that we're turning 21 soon."

Ritsu sniggered. "You mean you had a Yui moment."

Mio snorted. "Okay, that was mean."

"She loves us."

Mio made a strange, almost nostalgic hum.

Ritsu tilted her head. "Did you like Yui?"

"…Which Yui?"

"Our Yui."

"Huh? Why the sudden question?"

"C'mon, did you like her?"

"No."

"You're lying," Ritsu bluffed. She knew all of Mio's middle school crushes. If this went well, history would be repeating itself.

"I'm _not_! I—why are you even asking…."

Ritsu glanced at the time on the wall. "Because I'm interested."

"…Interested in what?"

"You know, Mio."

"No I don't."

Ritsu repressed a sigh. "Do you like Yui?" When Mio didn't answer, she added, "I won't tease you."

"Really."

Fifteen seconds had passed. "Yup. Promise."

Another five. "Are you trying not to laugh? Because I'll hang up if you are."

"Now I kinda feel like laughing."

"You are teasing me then!"

"I'm not!"

"Then promise not to laugh."

"Laughing is teasing?" was what Ritsu would like to ask. Instead she repeated herself with more clarity. "Okay. I promise not to tease nor laugh."

There was a sharp exhale. Ritsu waited.

Ten seconds later. "…I—it was _ages_ ago, okay?"

"What was ages ago?"

"You _know_ what it is! You know it!"

"Okay, okay!"

"And do _not_ tell anyone."

"But," Ritsu started, refraining the urge to sound too smug and amused, "even if I do tell—"

"No, you're not—"

"She won't mind, you know."

"But it's embarrassing! And she doesn't even know I'm…."

"A lesbian?" Ritsu chirped, oddly finding it to be like word vomit now. Just a week ago, she was blissfully avoiding it. Or maybe she really wasn't keeping up with her short-term promise; Mio was hilariously flustered.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm hiding it from her. I just—I don't want to make a big deal about it. Not to say that Mugi made a big deal about it, I—"

"Nah," Ritsu cut in, "I get what you mean. So be like Mugi and tell the others when you do. You know, have a girlfriend. That won't be a big deal, right?"

"Yeah … I guess."

Ritsu nodded. "Yeah."

"So you're coming over on Friday to finish that movie, right?"

Ritsu blinked at the topic change. "Yeah. Why? You're busy?"

"No, just making sure."

"So you can clean up your room?"

"Your room's messier, Ritsu."

"Ah, so you are."

"Oh shut it," Mio snapped, following it with an incomprehensible mutter. Ritsu thought she heard the word _procrastination_.

"It's okay Mio, you don't need to. Clean, I mean. Daishiro's room is waaay messier and I'm okay with it."

"You and I have different standards of cleanliness, you know."

"What? Leaving panties on the—"

"Shut up, that doesn't happen anymore!" There was a muffled sound of wood smacking against wood. Ritsu wondered if that was from one of the drawers that held the undergarments.

"Are you cleaning up now?"

"How's Daishiro?"

Ritsu rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "You are crap at changing subjects."

"No, I'm serious. How is he?"

Ritsu pursed her lips.

Reina would always ask that question out of habit, and she would always reply that Daishiro was good and life went on. Really, it was a mystery how the two girls hadn't met yet. They would be fast friends. "He's alright, the last time I checked."

Mio laughed. Another drawer was opened and shut. "You're making him sound like a pet. Oh, like Ton-chan."

_Okay, Reina wouldn't say that._

"Oi! It isn't supposed to—hey, Mio?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'm a pervert?"

The rustling stopped. "What brought this up?"

Ritsu blinked. Mio didn't seem to have heard her half-hearted playful tone. Or she heard it absolutely fine. "Uh, I dunno. I just, uh. Well a friend of mine—remember Reina?—told me something earlier today, and it got me thinking and all. I dunno … do you think I am?"

"A pervert?"

"Yeah…," Ritsu said, quickly finding the topic to be completely stupid. There was another silence, longer this time, and she was about to wave it off until Mio spoke again.

"I think you're an honest, normal girl."

Ritsu gaped. She hadn't been expecting an answer such as that. She had considered a situation in which she was really lucky; had received a direct yes or no. And had been spared from the tedious explanation as to why Reina's words were completely correct. "Really?"

"Who sometimes throws dirty jokes when most inappropriate," Mio deadpanned.

Ritsu's shoulders slumped. "I was going to say…."

"Why are you worried, anyway?" Mio piped up, in time with the returned rustling. "Does Reina not share your humour or something? You usually don't get, I don't know, down by something like that."

"I know. It's not that. It's … okay, you know what? Forget about it."

"…Okay," Mio said, in Tsumugi-esque fashion.

Ritsu clapped a hand over her face, having felt one of her eyebrows quirk up quite dangerously. She hadn't been wearing her hair band as consistently as she did in her high school days, but that didn't mean she wanted to be known as _no-brows_ whenever the accessory was used.

It was when Ritsu had massaged away the crease on her forehead did she finally realise something. Or a few things.

In the past year, the days she would often use to relax in Mio's room were replaced with sleepovers at the Kondo residence. And it was most probable, on those same days in Mio's shoes, Ritsu's role was taken up by Tsumugi.

Were there important things Ritsu had told Reina about, but had neglected to tell Mio?

What else did Tsumugi know that she didn't?

Mio's humming pierced the silence.

"Hey," Ritsu croaked. She cleared her throat and then asked, "Have you ever dat—have you ever fallen in love?"

"Huh? …What's with the weird questions today?"

Ritsu ruffled up her hair in frustration. She really wasn't ever going to talk about that side of her life with Mio at this rate. And Mio wasn't making it easy to share hers. "Oh fine, just forget it and—" She heard Mio mutter something. "—wait, what did you say?"

"…I said," Mio murmured, "I think I have—maybe, so…." There was a strange huff, mutated by the static sound of the mobile phone. "Okay, why are you asking these questions?"

Ritsu grimaced at the condescending tone and whether they were still best friends. She manufactured a half-lie. "Reina wanted to know—"

"Huh?"

"—lemme finish. She wanted to know if the shoujo crap she reads is like, I dunno, similar to real life."

"Oh. _Oh_." Mio was suddenly laughing again. "Well, tell her it's the same and yet not."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just tell her that. She might get it."

"Well I don't."

"It's because you don't read, as you call it, shoujo crap."

"I'm so sorry I'm allergic to it," Ritsu muttered, scratching absently at the itch on her back.

"Hm?"

Ritsu held back a sigh. "Nothing. So Friday. We'll be watching the second part of Red Cliff, right?"

"Yup. Though I have a feeling I'd have to put in the first part again. You fell asleep when there were just 15 minutes left."

"I'm sure I didn't miss much."

Mio huffed. "Fine then. You'd better not ask me, 30 minutes in, the whereabouts of Sun Shangxiang."

"Huh? She appeared again at the end?"

"Yeah. It was a great scene."

Ritsu sniggered. "I bet you were too busy drooling over Zhao Wei to wake me up."

"Oh shut up. She's really talented."

"And pretty," Ritsu offered, showing she could be a great listener.

Mio made another strange hum. Ritsu switched hands with the phone; her left ear was starting to hurt.

_Should I even try to ask whom she fell for?_ Ritsu wondered sarcastically. Because Mio was right; today was full of weird questions, already. And Ritsu wasn't sure Mio wanted to talk about it, considering how she had changed topics all of a sudden.

"So," Ritsu started, preparing herself for the half-monthly repetition, "have you talked to the others recently?"

"Hmn … I saw Mugi yesterday. And I haven't seen Azusa since Mugi's birthday."

"Oh, about Azusa, I gotta tell you something."

"Huh? What is it?"

"She told someone off."

"What kind of told off?"

Ritsu took a moment to recall how Azusa had sounded. "I-I said that she should pull her head out of her ass."

"Huh," Mio said. And Ritsu could see her friend sheepishly blinking until it had registered, "Wait, you were mimicking—_Azusa _said that? What? Tell me, tell me what happened!"

"Oh, you better ask her. I'll just stuff up the story."

Mio groaned. "You just said you were gonna tell me."

"I did tell you something," Ritsu rebutted. "I didn't say I'd tell you everything."

There was the sound of resignation. "You're such a smartass."

Ritsu chuckled. "I learn from the best."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mio demanded. She sighed again. "Oh forget it. I'll just ask Mugi then. She doesn't bother with these games."

_Ow, that hurts._

"Well, Mugi and Azusa are kinda close." Ritsu rolled her eyes heavenwards. In retrospect, she did ask for it. "Somehow."

"Yeah. And oh, remember how we spied on them before?"

Ritsu was baffled. "…We've spied on them? When?"

"Um … yeah! It's—I heard you the first time, Mama—Mum!—hey, I gotta go."

"Huh? Okay," Ritsu mumbled, her mind burrowed in the apparently elusive past.

"See you, then."

After the search had ended, Ritsu's curiosity was significantly and uneasily dampened.

She and Mio had indeed spied on Azusa and Tsumugi before. But there was a third person.

Mio hadn't said anything about Yui.

**ooo**

"Ritsu!" Ms Tainaka shrilled. "Get out of there, before I drag you out!"

Ritsu sighed. She turned off the cassette player as soon as the door to her room was flung open.

"Didn't I tell you," the woman continued to rage, "that the relatives are coming, in _five _minutes?"

_Yes you did,_ Ritsu thought,_ you said it ten minutes ago, oh and another ten minutes before that_. She didn't dare say it out loud; it would just add fuel into the fire. Giving silence to her irate mother was something she had finally learnt to practise a few years prior.

"Go to the living room, and start the preparations. You've been in your room, all day, listening to music, and doing nothing else! Who else does that, hm?" She then answered her own question, with the confidence of someone who had travelled the whole world and observed each person's living habits, "No one but you!"

Ritsu grunted, but she did as she was told with a straight back. No need to get reprimanded for the unladylike posture.

Ms Tainaka turned around and made her way for Satoshi's room. It was his turn.

When Ritsu entered the living room, Mr Tainaka looked up from his newspaper. "Your mother's right," he said, "You should follow Shiori's example. Mannered young lady she is, and now she's also a doting wife and mother."

_Fuck you too._

After the one-sided argument behind Ritsu had died down, Satoshi stumbled into the room and stood a few feet away from her. They shared a commiserating look.

_Eight_ minutes later, Ritsu grudgingly noted, the door bell rang. She made for the front door with Satoshi right behind her, allowing both of them to receive the bluntness of six expectant faces.

After the exchange of obligatory greetings, high shrills filled the hallway. Followed by the pattering of tiny feet.

"Ri-neechan!"

"Sa-niichan!"

Ritsu immediately crouched, in order to avoid inappropriate flashing of the undergarments. She berated herself for not remembering that her cousin, Shiori, and her family would be coming to visit. Her two kids had a habit of pulling at clothes for attention; another reason why she preferred pants over skirts.

It was after the two kids were given piggybacks and a game of hide and seek did Ritsu forget her earlier disgruntlement. And from what she had so far seen, her brother shared the same sentiment.

It was interesting, Ritsu admitted; a group of loud high school kids would annoy her with complete guarantee. But a couple of (adorable) children with equal amounts of energy and noise (if not more) would do the opposite.

A hand, which was too big for a three or four year old, rested on her shoulder.

Ritsu jumped.

Shiori laughed. "It's only me. Good thing you didn't scream." She tilted her head, as if in thought. "Then again, your screams are high enough to pass as one of my kids', right?"

The disgruntlement returned. "Shut up."

"So where are they?"

"Playing hide and seek."

"Oh. So I've blown your cover. I'm sorry," Shiori said, with an expression that told Ritsu she wasn't at all apologetic. "Your birthday's coming up in … a week, right? What are—"

"In a month."

"Oh."

Ritsu watched her cousin, who steadily stared back.

"You've forgotten my birthday," Ritsu stated.

"Oh no, I just keep on thinking it's August already—"

"What's my birth date then?"

"The 16th...?"

Ritsu sighed. "It's okay, I've forgotten yours too."

"Oh." Shiori beamed. "That's good then. We're even."

The door next to them was nudged open by tiny hands, and Ritsu thought of her cousin's younger years. Maybe it was because the mother and daughter were right beside each other, now, but Shiori looked _old_.

Shiori was twenty-seven. Or twenty-eight. Ritsu wasn't sure. But Shiori had been an adult for almost five years now. The same amount of time the Tainaka family knew of the existence of Shiori's first child.

Souta's sister was twenty-two.

Ritsu strode forward, stepping into her room and trying to avoid the fear slicing her into four.

"Neechan! I saw you!"

Ritsu squatted down and shakily smiled. "Yeah, you saw me! Fu-chan's good at finding people."

The girl frowned. "Didn't see Niichan."

"You will see him soon."

"So go ahead, Fu-chan," Shiori said, ushering her daughter towards the hallway, "Oh and tell the others, when you see them, that this room is out of bounds, okay?"

"Out of bounds?"

"Yup. This room is out of bounds. Tell them that."

"This room is out of bounds … okay, Mama!" (Ritsu snorted at this.)

"Good girl. Have fun now." Shiori turned to Ritsu and shut the door. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Ritsu was shot with a dubious look. "Why did you have to shoo her away?"

"You want her to listen to your boy talk?" Shiori asked with an eyebrow quirk, as she claimed a huge area of Ritsu's bed to sit on.

"Huh? I wasn't going to—"

"Who said you initiated the conversation?"

_Lady, my ass._ "If you told my parents you're here to check on the kids. This is one long check."

"Oh, Yamato will keep them busy. He seems to be on the roll tonight at cracking jokes. And it's been so long since I've talked to you."

"I emailed you some days ago."

"Yes, emailed. Not talked. So tell me, how are things with you and…." Shiori looked as if Ritsu's birthday wasn't the only thing she had forgotten about.

"Daishiro," Ritsu said warily, positioning herself near the window. If worse came to worst, she could jump off from it and maybe skip the last week of classes due to a broken leg.

"Daishiro. Yes, how are things between you and Daishiro?"

When Ritsu showed no hints of answering, Shiori continued, "Has it gone further? More—"

"You're right. Fu-chan really shouldn't listen to this. It's sex talk now?"

Shiori shot a look. "You know what I mean."

Ritsu sighed.

First it was Reina and now it was Shiori. Was it so wrong that she was completely content at where they were right now? She had a healthy supply of sex, they used protection every time (unlike _someone_), Daishiro was only as moody as the average person, and they talked well enough. So she hadn't been thinking much about the future, in that aspect, since—

"You _are_ over Renjiro, right?"

—Ren. Of course.

Ritsu was surprised Shiori remembered his name. "Of course I am. It's been ages since then."

Shiori was making the already made bed. "You were a total mess last Christmas."

Ritsu rolled her eyes as she calculated. "Well, last Christmas was … seven months ago." She shrugged. "I'm only twenty. Lemme enjoy life a bit, will ya?"

Ritsu didn't like the sympathetic glance.

"You know," Shiori started, now openly admiring the old curtains that adorned the window. It was almost as if she was afraid to show too much pity.

Ritsu pointedly stared at the messed bed.

"It's funny," Shiori continued, "Eight years ago, I was just like you. I was _only_ twenty and all I wanted was to enjoy life and be free—"

"So you _are_ twenty-eight!"

"You'd forgotten my age…?" Shiori deadpanned.

Ritsu grinned easily. "Sorry, sorry. Go on."

The curtains were ignored now. "I do worry about you, you know."

Ritsu's expression dropped. "Shiori," she managed; it had been years since she openly referred to her as an adored older sister and the return of it wasn't happening any time soon, "you have two kids, not three. I can take care of myself."

Shiori locked eyes for a moment, or two, before lowering her gaze to the ground. She nodded. "You're right."

Ritsu exhaled in unheard agreement.

Shiori clicked her tongue. "Gee, I am getting old."

"Yeah, I see wrinkles now."

"Oh shut up. I'm not _that_ old."

They both giggled over the forced comfort until there was a call from the four year old.

Shiori stood up and made for the door. "I'd better start checking on them then."

"Yeah," Ritsu said, knowing it didn't reach her cousin's ears.

_Well, that was easy._

**ooo**

An hour later, the kids were coaxed off Satoshi's back and ushered into Shiori's family car.

"I shouldn't have gone to the gym earlier," Satoshi complained as he rolled his shoulders. "What's Shi-nee been feeding them with? They're tough for little kids."

Ritsu inwardly smiled. Her brother seemed to have kept the childhood endearment for Shiori. "You were a tough little kid too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You'd break my stuff and make all these annoying tantrums."

"…Wasn't that you?"

"Hey! I handled your stuff with great care!"

"You tried to sell them to our neighbours," Satoshi deadpanned.

Ritsu crossed her arms. "But they were satisfied customers. And I gave you 30% profit."

"People think I have two sisters, you know. They meet the nice you and then they hear about your—"

"You talk bad stuff about me?"

Satoshi stopped moving his shoulders and started on flexing his neck. "I was kidding, Nee-chan. Only Suzuki thinks there are two sisters."

Ritsu couldn't bring herself to nod; be relieved from the fact that her _cool sister_ image was still intact. Because the last time Satoshi's friend had visited, it was a most awkward affair. "…Please tell me he's stopped crushing on me."

"He has."

"Really?"

Satoshi waved dismissively. "Don't worry 'bout it."

"You do know that does the complete opposite, right? What you're doing."

Satoshi grinned. "Taste your own medicine."

"Whaddya mean?"

"You seriously don't know you do that—thing—a lot?"

Ritsu blinked. "But that's 'cause you seriously don't need to worry about it."

"Well, same here. Don't worry about it."

"Really?"

"Really. He didn't know you have a boyfriend then. That's why. He knows now."

"Oh. Oh, okay. Great. I'm still gonna avoid you guys when you're in the living room though."

"Sure. You hog the controllers too much anyway."

Ms Tainaka appeared behind the bathroom door. "Bath's ready. Who's using it?"

The siblings glanced at each other.

Ritsu shrugged. "You go first. You did more piggy-backing."

Satoshi perked up. "Thanks Nee-chan!" Taking his towel and pyjamas, he dashed off.

"Remember to brush your teeth," their mother said in mid-yawn.

Ritsu nodded sluggishly. Satoshi answered with an energetic door slam.

After Ms Tainaka had gone upstairs, Satoshi stuck his head out. "Nee-chan."

"Hm?"

"Fu-chan accidentally broke one of The Who's DVDs."

Ritsu's towel angrily met the closed door.

**ooo**

The assignment that was due in a week and was worth a quarter of the marks Ritsu could get—was lying by her elbow, forgotten. The running cassette player and a book full of printed photos held the brunette's attention instead. Procrastination at one of its finest.

Ritsu thumbed over a page, and stared. It was a photo of a couple cuddling in bed, assumingly in the morning—judging by the colours of natural light on the curtains and the newspaper on the duvet. There was also a clock on the bedside table, but Ritsu couldn't read the time on it.

_Am I gonna be like those two one day?_

Ritsu tilted her head and mentally photoshopped it.

The clock got crossed eyes. An appropriate prop in the family photo Azusa kept.

_"And we're Houkago Teatime!"_

The player clicked, notifying its media's end. Ritsu rewound it.

Creating the tape had been hard work. The school bell and PA system hadn't helped, and it wasn't as if they wanted it be as professionally done as possible. But it would be nice that only Houkago Teatime was heard throughout the recording. And maybe a bit of their advisor.

So it was agreed that they would make five copies for memorabilia. Ritsu had kept hers with the DVDs and CDs in her room, and it was only now—three years later—did she get to listen to it again. She didn't think any of them would bother to go back to Sakura High for that.

And then there was that one time Ritsu had lingered after classes, and had bumped into Azusa near the car park. After Ritsu had gotten over the shock that the youngest out of the five was the first to own a car, she had suggested in paying their high school a visit.

Azusa had gawked at her.

"What?" Ritsu had said.

"…Oh, you're actually serious. I was kind of expecting you to tell me to drive you to the beach or some other impossible place."

"Eh, I only do that when I wanna be frustrating."

"I thought that's all the time with you…."

If the situation had happened a year or two before, Ritsu would have given Azusa a chokehold until they had reached her car. Instead, Ritsu gave a mild pout and gestured Azusa to get a move on.

They had visited. They had a quick walkabout of the place, and had chased Yamanaka Sawako down and had informed her that her wrinkles were visible now. Ritsu had been glad that looks didn't kill and a teacher had been making his way to them, and they had left.

The music room was in use, and intimidating.

In retrospect, Azusa would've been the last person Ritsu thought of when it came to visiting Sakura Hill High School. Mio was highly plausible. Tsumugi wasn't as farfetched. And Yui…?

The player had finished rewinding.

_"President,_" came Yui's voice, "_what is 'after school' to you?"_

_"Let's see…._" Ritsu winced at her sudden, introspective tone. "_A waste of time?_"

Mio had been quick to agree.

**ooo**

The upbeat rhythm of _Rice is a Side Dish_ was muffled.

Ritsu lifted her head and rubbed her eyes before she made a grab for her phone.

"Hello?"

Ritsu jerked the phone away, wincing. Before she tentatively moved the phone back to her ear, she lowered the volume and glanced at the caller ID. It wasn't shared.

_Shit. Someone's pranking me._

"Hello?" Ritsu repeated, louder this time.

"Heeey, Ritsu!"

_Someone that sounds exactly like a drunken … wait—_

"_Mio?_ What the—are you—_where are you_?"

"Karaoke's so fun! You should've came. Aka—"

Ritsu's abrupt awakening didn't help in processing Mio's words. "Who? What?"

"Anyways, I was singing, you know—and then I realised I could do this! Listen."

Ritsu did listen. And she instantly regretted it. Mio sounded like a litter of puppies fighting over a shoe. It was not as cute as one would think.

"So?" Mio asked.

"Huh?"

There was a giggle. "Did I sound like Ton-chan?"

Ritsu gaped. _Ton-chan? She was being Ton-chan?_

"Uh, Mio. Maybe you shouldn't—"

"I didn't, did I? Lemme try it again."

"No—"

Hyperactive, hungry puppies.

Ritsu tried to rub away the crease on her forehead, foreseeing a headache. "Mio, go and drink some water before you're knocked out. Or you're gonna regret it and I'm going to say, 'I told you so.'"

"Hm…? You told me what?"

Ritsu sighed heavily. Yet she couldn't help but be amused as she repeated, "Drink some water, Mio."

"Hmmm, okay!"

"Good night."

"Good night, Ritsu!"

Ritsu flipped over the pillow, turned the mobile to offline mode and relaxed.

_Good night, Mio._

**ooooo**  
_End of Chapter_

**A/N: **There's a reason why I added 'POV: Ritsu' at the start of chapter 1. This fic has unreliable narration, considering it's from one perspective. Just saying this to mess your minds, in regard to chapter two. :3

And … I think most of you have been expecting this, but Arpeggio's on a _long_ hiatus. _Its_ fourth chapter is currently split up into three documents and each one of them is a huge collection of disorganised, unfinished scenes and … it's just horrible. I'm gonna finish this fic before I return to it. That will stop me from becoming too confused and making both fics suffer tremendously, in updates. ;_; I'm sorry.

**Also, Ryumakusa4eva and I have created a forum called K-ON Fanfiction Awards (for those who are familiar of the event, yes, it is what you think it is). Right now it's still in its infant stages but you can discuss anything K-ON there. Link is here:**

**k-onfanfictionaward . findforum . net**

**Just take out the spaces before and after the dots.**

**Notes**:  
— lol, I initially used 'eraser' to lessen the confusion to those that haven't heard the stationery being referred to as a 'rubber' before. Then I changed it at the last minute because "unintended" innuendo is funny. =D A-and then you won't be confused in the future if someone else uses 'rubber' instead of 'eraser'? See, I'm helping you!


	5. Chapter 5

.**  
**

**ooooo**

_I will hold onto you_

**ooo**

"Hey, Ritsu."

Ritsu looked up from her plate in mild surprise. She could see Mio react in a similar manner from the corner of her eye.

Souta directed his pair of chopsticks at her. "You ever saw Mio get drunk while doing karaoke?"

Ritsu could hear Mio's mental groan. Of course, if Souta wasn't picking on her, he was going to target someone else. He had been referring to her as _midget_ since their first step into the restaurant. Yet she wasn't sure if she really minded this or not. It was because of Mio's presence that Souta hadn't been pummeled yet—saving her many a trip to the authorities.

"Don't think so, no," Ritsu replied. "Did hear her though."

Souta's eyebrows rose. "Hear her?"

"Hey." Mio was apparently unhappy with the target change. "Shouldn't we get the bill by now?"

Souta waved her away. "I'm still drinking, woman. Slow down, why are you in a hurry?" To emphasise his point, he picked up his cup of tea and sipped it. He then cringed; it had gone cold.

"Yeah," Ritsu started to elaborate as she watched Souta refill their cups. "She called me and screamed in my ear. Really woke me up."

There was a mumbled apology by her side. Cute, but unnecessary. Ritsu had forgiven Mio as soon as she had recognised the voice of the so-called prankster. But she was still going to tease her.

"Ah, I was there when she called you. We were celebrating my sister's birthday. Mio was … copying this Ton girl, I think."

Ritsu repressed a smile. "Ton-chan's a turtle."

"Pseudo soft-shelled turtle," Mio automatically grumbled. She sighed. "I'm never going to drink again."

"Same thing," Ritsu said airily. "And it's not like—"

"I—or Aka—will make you drink," Souta stated with a shrug. "I can make anyone drink, I've never failed before. Especially with girls."

Ritsu figured she must've had shown a disgusted look for Souta continued, somewhat casually, "A drunk girl is funnier, ja?"

Ritsu shrugged. She had to give him points for not throwing any predictable, crude jokes.

"So, turtle," Souta said with a smirk, "I didn't forget that. This turtle Mio was copying … can speak?" He snickered. "Turtles can speak. Ha, you're funny. I'm really going to make you drink again next time. Watch me."

Feeling a nudge on her right arm, Ritsu turned towards that direction. Mio's face seemed to struggle in deciding on which emotion it should show. Mortification or madness. Mortification — "I hate you," she muttered, "Now he's never gonna let me live it down."

Ritsu arched an eyebrow. "And _I_ will?"

Forget the struggle; Mio shot a livid glare.

Ritsu smiled. Mio was all bark and no bite in public, nowadays. "Who else did ya call?"

Mio looked the other way. It took a few moments for Ritsu to realise she wasn't going to get an answer.

"So midget—" Ritsu glowered. "—do you work?"

Not wanting to growl out her answer, Ritsu shook her head. It made her dizzy.

"So Mum and Dad give you money? You can be my backup money—for the bill." Souta stood up and gave a headshake of his own. "You're lucky you're girls, or I would make you work and pay for everything from now on."

Ritsu looked at Mio, who leant in and whispered, "He never lets me pay when I do have money, anyway."

"So you _are_ broke."

Mio pulled a sheepish face. "Well, what do you have?"

"Uh … only 2,000 yen."

Mio pursed her lips. She looked like she was going to say something but had changed her mind. Ritsu tilted her head.

"…That'd be 6,570 yen, Sir."

Ritsu looked over her shoulder. She watched Souta pull a 10,000 yen note from his wallet, pass it to the cashier—and saunter towards the exit without looking back.

Mio and Ritsu hurried over to him, self-conscious by the cashier's helpless stare. They made it in time to witness Souta sharply nodding to a passing waitress. She flustered and bowed lowly in return.

"Hey," Ritsu mumbled as soon she was in Souta's hearing range, "you do know you gave more money than you should, right? You've got like 3,000 change."

Mio was concerned with another matter. "Why do you keep on doing that?" she demanded, "This is exactly why I don't want to accept that job."

Souta chuckled as he swung the car keys around his finger. "It was _good_ food. And it's funny when they think you're bowing to them."

"Funny to _you_. She looked like she was having a panic attack. I would too if I were her!"

Ritsu looked back at the victim. She was smiling brightly at the next group of customers. When Ritsu turned around, she was facing Souta's hand. Palm towards the sky. She grumbled and gave away her last 2,000 yen note of the week.

Souta laughed. "Ritsu sure is nice. She gave the girl some change. She is really pretty though." He pocketed the money and directed his hand towards Mio's way. She glanced at him and sighed. She rummaged out a note.

"1,000?" Souta exclaimed. "That's it? Even midget here managed to give me 2,000."

"Stop calling me midget, jackass," Ritsu grumbled aloud.

"You said you wanted a job," Souta continued, either not hearing or ignoring her, "so why don't you take it?"

"Yes," Mio replied, "I _wanted_ a job. I'm too busy nowadays. I don't know how Mugi does it."

Souta remotely unlocked the car doors, allowing the three to climb in. The front seat was not taken. "Because unlike someone, Mugi trusts I won't go and do anything when I visit her."

"It's because Mugi tolerates you more than I do," Mio muttered at the same time Ritsu exclaimed, "You know Mugi?"

Souta glanced at the rear mirror. "'Course I know her. You know her too, ja?"

Ritsu wanted to ask how. She stopped, gaping, when Souta pulled out a pair of glasses from the small compartment next to him. The lenses were not tinted.

…_What? He needs them?_

Souta took her silence as a chance to target Mio again. "It's break for you now. Now's a good time to work." He looked over his shoulder as he reversed the car out of the parking spot. "I swear I won't tease you if I see you."

"You never keep your promises," Mio said bluntly.

"I will keep this one."

"What kinda job is it?" Ritsu asked, looking out of the window after she had caught herself staring. She thought Souta had blue eyes, not brown.

"Waitress at a café. Only takes about 20 minutes on the bus to get there, since little Mio here doesn't have a car."

"Shut up," Mio mumbled.

Ritsu was grinning. It felt nice that she wasn't the only one to be seen as little. "Does she have to wear uniform?"

"…Un."

Ritsu shook Mio's shoulder. "Hey, you really should take his offer!"

Mio faced her. "If you do not want to lose your hand, take it off. Right now."

"You did fine when we worked at the café—that Mugi owned?—Mio."

"And I was traumatised, Ritsu. No."

Ritsu shook again. "I'll visit you when your shift ends so I can fix your face."

"_No_."

"Oh c'mon, you're cute in uniform."

Mio twitched. Ritsu jerked her hand away; on second thought, she preferred to have two of them attached to her person.

"Hey you two, remember there's someone else here."

"Huh? !"

On the rear mirror, Souta's eyes were wide as he echoed her exclamation.

Ritsu looked away. "What are the work hours?" she mumbled, noting belatedly that Souta had switched the radio on. She repeated herself after Souta had given the predictable _what?_

"The usual day hours on the days you are free. They let you pick which days."

"Oh, okay." Ritsu chanced a glance at Mio. She was humming along with the radio.

"Why? Do you want to take the job?"

Ritsu leaned forward to hear Souta more clearly. "Who, me?"

"Who else am I talking to?"

"…I don't know."

"You don't know who I'm talking to?" Souta said incredulously.

Ritsu had a feeling he knew what she had meant. But she still took the bait; she shook her head. "No, I mean I dunno if I should take it. You offered it to Mio first."

"And Mio doesn't want it," Souta concluded, "At this rate, her husband and me will be betting how many jobs _she_ rejects. Not the person wanting to hire her."

Ritsu leant back, blinking rapidly. "Wait, what? Husband?"

"Mio's obviously gonna get married one day, ja?"

"But don't you know—" She saw Mio glance her way.

Souta apparently didn't hear Ritsu, for he continued, "I'll be rich. If he's not too worried to bet for real." Then for a moment, it seemed like he had heard her. "So Ritsu, do you want the job then? It's good pay."

Ritsu dropped the impromptu topic, for now. "What's the catch?"

"Huh?"

Ritsu repeated a bit louder, "What are you getting out of this?"

Souta shrugged. "I get paid too, once. For giving them an extra worker. Want some time to think on it?"

Ritsu watched Mio with her peripherals. From what she could tell, the glance had turned into a stare. "Yeah," Ritsu finally said, nodding, "gimme some time to think about it. Um, thanks."

"Be quick though. The job's been up for a long time already. Someone has to take it soon."

Ritsu made a noise of acknowledgement. After several moments, when the surroundings grew more familiar, she spoke up, "Hey, can you drop us at the station?"

"Drop you at the station?" Souta parroted. "Both of you?"

"Yeah," Ritsu said before Mio could speak. "We can walk the rest of the way."

If Souta had seen Mio's confusion, he didn't comment on it. He complied with the request.

"Thanks," Ritsu mentioned as she got off. Having heard Mio's mumble of gratitude right behind her, she knew her friend wasn't mad at her for being made to walk. She left the door open for her.

"See you."

"Ja."

As soon as Souta's car sped off, Ritsu turned to Mio. She was already making her way towards some shade. Ritsu followed her, but didn't speak. Not yet.

When the possibility of passers-by was close to zero, she took her chance. "Mio."

"Hm?"

"Does Souta know you're…?" Ritsu inwardly grimaced. Now that she had heard the same words, which she would often say to Mio, come from Souta's mouth … Ritsu felt sick in the stomach.

"Yeah. He knows."

Ritsu adjusted her hat. _Tch, of course he knows._ "Then why did he say the things he said? I know he's a..." she paused to wet her mouth, and found she couldn't continue.

"I probably will end up getting married." Ritsu's gaze flickered up, catching Mio's eyes. Mio shrugged off her confusion. "I'm sure there're a lot of norm—a lot of girls out there that are married with someone they aren't in love with." She shrugged again. "It's not farfetched, you know."

Ritsu swallowed. "And what if the guy you're married to loves you?"

Mio seemed to skip a footstep. She didn't stumble. "Marry a guy who wouldn't love me—like that—then. Someone who knows he's allowed to visit someone whom he does … and vice versa."

Ritsu stared at Mio.

Mio gave a half-hearted laugh. "Maybe Souta is that guy."

Ritsu gawked. "What? _No_," was what she was about to say. Instead, after she had composed herself, she murmured, "How would you know he wouldn't fall for you?"

It was Mio's turn to stare at Ritsu.

"What?" Ritsu asked quietly.

Mio grimaced. "I'm like his _little_ sister. He spoils me."

Ritsu blinked quite a few times. "…He's that type? Huh. Can't see him like that for some reason. I can only imagine all the trouble his big sis has to endure."

"People wouldn't know you're the _big sis_ type too, you know."

Ritsu frowned. "Shut up."

Mio gave a wry smile.

A passer-by appeared and left. Ritsu took that time to ponder over what had been discussed. "…How 'bout Souta's sis?"

"Huh?"

"Souta's sister. She got married because she loved the guy, right?"

Mio shook her head, mostly to herself. "I don't know. Probably. It's not like I asked. And it's not like I can anyway."

"Why not?"

Mio looked taken aback. "W-well, you said it before, we aren't really friends. And it's not really something you can ask, you know?"

Ritsu met Mio's gaze.

"And," her friend continued, breaking eye contact, "then there's you. I mean, I've known you since we were nine and…."

_Yet I don't __**know**__ much about you._

Ritsu nodded curtly. She understood.

It was some moments later did Ritsu admit to the ground, "Remember all those questions I asked before? Some weeks ago?" She didn't look up nor wait for Mio's answer to continue. "It's 'cause of that. This."

"…We talked almost every day," Mio muttered, agreeing, "after we graduated."

"Yeah."

"It was partly my fault. I … suddenly met all these people and…."

Ritsu's jaw tightened. _And so you forgot about me._

"You've always told me to go out and meet people, Ritsu." The brunette looked up; Mio was quick to add, "Not like I'm blaming you or anything; I'm just saying you were right. But I wasn't … used to talking to more than four people on a regular basis. Mama and Papa don't count." Mio's head shook. "But that's not the point. It's just…."

Ritsu glared at the concrete. _Of course that's not the point. You thought I'd stop talking to you if you told me about your problems. Me, your best friend since elementary. So you went and finally took my fucking advice to meet other people. And it pisses me off that that jackass seems to know you so—_

Much to Ritsu's shock, Mio started to laugh. It was weak, but she was _laughing_ when she was—

"Yui scolded me once," Mio explained. Ritsu became confused; felt dizzy from the sudden change of pace, _**Yui**__ scolded __**Mio**_? "For making you promise you won't get a boyfriend till you're 40. I didn't think you were even serious when you—I didn't think it was even a _promise_. But Yui thought I was trying to make you guilty or something. Since it took you so long to tell me about Renjiro."

Ritsu stood still.

_Ren?_

_Guilty?_

Of course. The memories were coming back to her; flooding her mind.

Ritsu had felt guilty. And she had told Yui about it over the phone. It was one of the last calls she made to her old friend. It had been two years.

She'd thought she was betraying the group somehow. She'd thought she was breaking a promise with her best friend. She had hardly called her then; hardly invited her out. She didn't know what to say, despite Mio's lack of an attitude change when she had finally found out.

She hated to admit it, but she had been utterly wrapped up in Ren's world too.

And yet here she was, blaming Mio for meeting new people.

Ritsu felt like a complete jerk.

"Ritsu?" Mio's voice was too quiet. Too soft.

Ritsu looked up. Mio was also looking too worried. She was rummaging through her handbag, searching for something. Finally, she pulled out a handkerchief. She meekly handed it to her.

As soon as Ritsu took it, realisation and intense embarrassment hit her. She dropped her head. "I-I was just sweating!"

"I know. So keep the handkerchief. I wouldn't want it to stink up my bag."

Ritsu giggled brokenly. She didn't dare say anything else, after hearing her voice. She quickly rubbed her eyes.

"You know I wasn't mad at all, right?"

"Yeah," Ritsu croaked out, before she had the chance to think. She mentally chastised herself.

"Actually, okay, I was a bit mad that it took you so long to tell me. But I've long forgiven you."

Ritsu wanted to tell Mio to drop the subject, because the tears were _not_ _stopping_. But she had a feeling that if she did, Mio would drop all topics that contained similar worth.

Her stomach sank when Mio did stop. Or had seemed to.

"Hey, Ritsu."

"…Hm?"

"Do you love Daishiro?"

Ritsu looked up. Mio was expecting an answer. Why she would ask such a question, Ritsu didn't know. Then, she thought over it.

And it suddenly made sense.

If Ritsu wanted to know what was happening in Mio's life, she had to share what was happening in hers, too.

_Do I love Daishiro?_

He was nice and good-looking. They didn't share many interests as of yet. He was a gamer geek, she knew, no matter how much he tried to hide it. And despite his decided lack of fashion sense at times, he had good taste in regard to movies and music.

"Yeah, I like him."

Mio blinked. Ritsu followed her.

_Why does she look so surprised?_

"Are you—" Mio stopped herself and shook her head. "Actually, nothing."

Ritsu knew what Mio was trying to ask. "I am, actually."

Mio's brow was raised. "How did you—"

"My cousin asked the same question not so long ago."

"Oh."

They walked the rest of the way in relative silence. Passers-by were appearing more often now. Maybe it was about time they called each other as frequently as they did in the past. Or visit each other. Ritsu couldn't remember the last time Mio stepped in her room.

"Did you seriously mean it?" Ritsu blurted out, when Mio's house came into view.

"Eh?"

Ritsu matched Mio's steps and lowered her voice. "That you'll marry someone, but…."

"It's what society expects, isn't it?" Mio chuckled. "Um, if they don't know about the—about the other part, that is."

"Ah."

"Anyway, I'll see you later."

Ritsu nodded mutely. She waved.

Mio turned, briefly checked the letterbox and walked up towards the front door with a hand in her bag.

Ritsu stared after her.

Ritsu watched the woman who was okay being alone when she was a little girl, had become used to company by middle school, and couldn't handle being alone by high school. And throughout those years Ritsu had known her, Mio had dreamt of a fairytale marriage.

Ritsu stared down. At lost time.

**ooo**

Ms Tainaka placed a few carrots on the chopping board Ritsu was using. "Please cut those too."

"Okay."

Her mother returned her attention to the stove. "Have you considered working during the break?"

Ritsu slid the chopped onions to the side. She shook her head, as if to rid the burning near her eyes. "I have, actually. Thinking of taking a waitress job a friend told me about." She then cringed. Friend? Souta? But it was better than explaining the whole thing, her pride be damned.

"Oh?" The tone was unusually inquisitive. "Where is it at?"

"Uhh … I'm not sure. I just know it takes 20 minutes to get there by bus. From the bus stop near Mio's house, I think."

"Oh, was Mio the one that told you about it?"

"Huh? About the bus stop?"

"…About the job, Ritsu."

"Nah, it was a friend of ours." Ritsu cringed again. If this kept up, she'd be chopping some skin off her fingers.

"Who?"

"Souta. Forgot his last name; he's a foreigner."

"How come I haven't heard of him till now?"

With the carrots now chopped, Ritsu carefully placed the board by the stove. She washed the blade. "Only met him recently. He's more of a friend of Mio's."

"A friend?" Her mother's voice had a certain tilt.

"Yeah." Then, Ritsu thought back to the words Mio had parted her with a few hours prior. "I think so," she added smoothly.

"…Mio with a foreigner, hmm? I wonder if her mother would approve of that."

Drying her hands on a small towel, Ritsu casually regarded the older woman. "Would _you_ approve? Say, if it was me with a foreigner."

Ms Tainaka gave a levelled stare. "Is there something you're not telling me about Daisuke?"

"Daishiro," Ritsu corrected.

"Daishiro. …What _is_ his last name? I don't think you've told me."

_I'm really sure I did._ "Inoue. So, you seriously wouldn't approve if he was … say, half-German?"

Her mother took a suspiciously long time to answer. "If he's a nice, well-mannered boy like Kondo, of course I'll approve."

Ritsu rolled her eyes. Another mention of Ren. "When are you going to stop that, Mum?"

Ms Tainaka made a face as if she hadn't done anything wrong or sly. "What are you talking about? Stop what?"

"Stop bringing up Ren. And using him as the standard for the rest of the guys I'm going to date."

"He was good to you, Ritsu. I still don't know why you two had to break up."

"_He_ broke up with me, Mum," Ritsu said perfunctorily. They had gone over this many times already.

"Then you should've tried your best to fix the problem that caused the breakup in the first place." The woman was stirring the noodles in the frypan in agitation. "I thought I had raised you be a strong girl, Ritsu."

"And you did," Ritsu articulated, "That's why I'm over him. I knew him more than you did, especially his flaws."

The occasional sound of the wooden spoon hitting against metal was her only reply.

Ritsu left the kitchen. She needed a good excuse to take a breather from this household.

"Where are you going?"

"Getting details about that job."

"…Alright. Dinner will be ready soon."

**ooo**

Ritsu stepped out of the café in relief. It was a surprising but pleasantly smooth experience; she had been dreading the wait one would usually endure afterwards.

Her weekends had been quickly filled with work hours.

She made a beeline to the park Mio was supposedly at. She was munching on a home-made sandwich when she found her.

"I got the job!" Ritsu exclaimed, before Mio could finish swallowing her last bite.

The poor woman looked like she was about to choke. "W-_What_? That's quick!"

"Souta wasn't lying about them needing people, huh?"

Mio was looking doubtful. "But the spot had been up for nearly a month…."

Ritsu scratched the back of her neck. "I hate to say this, but maybe it's 'cause Souta recommended me."

"I guess so," Mio muttered, before taking a sip out of her steel water bottle. "Hey … was there a job notice at the front?"

"Uh…." Ritsu recalled what were displayed on the windows of the café. Her half-raised arm fell to her side. "You know what? There wasn't. …Not even near the cashier."

Mio nodded, as if all the answers in her mind had been answered.

Ritsu pouted. "You could've said congratulations or something."

Mio seemed to be forcing down a smile. "…Congratulations."

"It's too late now."

Mio jerked her head to the side; her shoulders shook.

Ritsu soon heard her amusement. "Shut up," she grumbled, trying to delay the upward curving of her lips. She failed.

After the shared laughter had faded away, Ritsu took a seat next to Mio on the bench. "What should we do now?" she wondered aloud.

"Hmm … we can't really window shop. We always end up buying something. Movies are out … you probably want to watch that horror movie."

Ritsu nodded sleepily. "Yeah, but I don't feel like sitting for an hour or two. So yeah, movies are out."

It became eerily quiet.

Ritsu opened her eyes; checked to see if Mio was still wide awake. Her friend seemed to be watching the sky.

Mio suddenly muttered something.

"Huh?"

"Ice-skating."

Ritsu stared sluggishly. "…Just the two of us?"

Mio shook her head, slowly. "Mugi and the others are thinking of ice-skating next week."

"Others?"

"Ishiko and Souta…." Mio finally faced her, and Ritsu could see how sleepy Mio had become from the way she had turned. "Do you want to join?"

"…Is it on the weekends? 'Cause I can't if it is."

Mio's eyes travelled upwards as if to remember. "It's on a Wednesday. Why?"

"I work on weekends now."

Mio was instantly awake. "_Oh_. Well, Wednesdays are good, right?"

Ritsu was startled to a nod. "Yeah."

Mio returned the gesture. "We could even plan what to do for your birthday. Since it's coming up in a month. Less than that, actually."

"Heh … so it's not gonna be a surprise for me, huh?"

Mio flushed. "Well," she stuttered, "it's just ... it's just in case your boyfriend might have something else in mind, then. It'll be better if there aren't any conflicts, you know."

Ritsu blinked rapidly. "Oh. Uh, I didn't think of that."

Mio arched an eyebrow.

"What?" Ritsu defended herself. "I really didn't think what I should do. 'Sides pretending I'm not really that old."

"Maybe you should just face reality for once. You're getting older and your height's still the same."

"Hey! Shut up, you."

Mio snorted.

Ritsu poked her in the arm. Hard.

"Hey— ow!"

Ritsu harrumphed. "Let's play video games at my house."

Mio rubbed the spot where she had been prodded. "You just said you don't want to sit for hours."

"Yeah, sit and just watch for hours. Gaming's different!"

"…Right," Mio said, but remained seated.

Ritsu stood up. "Let's go!"

Mio released a long-suffering sigh. Ritsu watched her friend take her time to stretch her back and gather her belongings.

"…You know, looking at you, people'll think you're the one older than me."

"Oh shut it."

The jab seemed to awaken Mio, for she was able to keep up with Ritsu on their way to the bus stop. Mio dumped her bag by the pole that held the timetable and squinted.

A few seconds later. "Are you actually getting blind before me, young'un?"

Mio flushed. "No! I-It's just … the text's a bit small."

Ritsu leaned in. "I can read it just fine."

Mio sighed and dropped down; sat on the balls of her feet. "We gotta wait for seven minutes."

"Yeah." Ritsu nodded, leaning back and allowing her eyes to dart around the half-crowded stop. All the seats were taken. And as much as she would like to cherish the abrupt height difference, she ended up squatting alongside Mio. She huffed towards the road. "Should be cool at the icerink, right?"

"Un."

"Can Souta skate?"

"…He's alright at it, I guess."

"Ah."

_He'd better not be looking when I get on the ice…._

"Why'd you ask?" Mio said at the same time Ritsu commented, "Didn't know he wears glasses."

"Huh?"

"Souta," Ritsu repeated after she had faced Mio, "He wears glasses?"

"Uh." Mio blinked rapidly. "Yeah. Mostly contacts though. He prefers those over glasses."

"Huuuh."

Mio rose to her full height, forcing Ritsu to do the same. The sun stabbed the back of her legs. A bead of sweat glided down in-between her breasts. Ritsu resisted the urge to fidget, allowing her want to whine to triumph.

"Why is it so hooot? Mio, pass me the water."

Mio stared at her. Despite her seemingly lethargic mood, she managed to pull an unrelenting face.

"Please," Ritsu added.

Mio passed the water bottle.

Ritsu took it, unscrewed the steel cap and tipped her head back, awaiting ice-cool water to dribble down her throat. Because surely Mio must've had drunken at least half of it by now.

Mio hadn't.

A good portion of what should've went into Ritsu's mouth splashed onto her top, cooling and showing the skin underneath.

Ritsu pulled out a handkerchief—_I just fucking washed it too—_and quickly dabbed it at her top, which had already soaked up all the moisture.

"Fucking piece of—oh geez." Ritsu pocketed the small cloth and gave another attempt at quenching her thirst. This time, she succeeded.

"Bus is here," Mio said.

Ritsu looked up, expecting the bus to be at the end of the road. Instead, it was right before her. Having heard the other passengers line up behind her, she hastily fetched out her purse and fumbled in gathering the correct coins for her fare.

"I'll pay for you," Mio hissed over her shoulder, "Just—cover up before you embarrass yourself even more."

"Thanks," Ritsu mumbled over her bag, which was held over her chest. She shuffled along, thankful for Mio's side-step so she could take the seat by the window and that she was one of the first in line. By the time the bus moved again, two people were standing on the aisle.

Ritsu paid Mio back and returned the bottle. Adjusting her bag so it wasn't blocking the sunrays from doing its work, she rested her temple against the cool glass of the window.

"…Ritsu. Ritsu, wake up."

She opened her eyes, only to immediately close them. Turning away from the source of light, she groggily watched Mio rise from her seat and look back at her. Mio tilted her head towards the front of the bus.

Familiar neighbourhood.

Ritsu jolted to her feet and stumbled her way after Mio. She almost fell at the last step.

"Could've wakened me up earlier, you know," Ritsu grumbled.

Mio huffed. "I didn't even _know_ you were asl—" She was then stumbling forward. After she had regained her balance, she glared at the offending groove in the footpath.

"Hah! Teaches you right for not looking where you're going. Or you just can't see that far?"

Mio gave Ritsu a long stare.

Ritsu fidgeted. "What?"

"Did I say something I don't remember?"

"Huh?"

"When I was drunk and I called you," Mio explained, "Did I say anything that was—anything that peeved you off?"

"'Sides screaming in my ear as hello?"

"Yes."

"'Sides mimicking—"

"_Yes._"

"Just joking. That was hilarious. You do a crap Ton-chan, you know—"

"Ritsu."

"Okay, okay." Ritsu looked where she was going as she thought about it, knowing this was a bad time for her to do a Mio and trip—again. "I was giving you advice and you weren't listening, does that count?"

Mio blinked. "Advice?"

"Yeah, I mean—uh, don't tell me you ended up getting a hangover…."

"Huh?"

"Were you hungover the ne—"

"Oh, no I wasn't. I—advice…?"

Ritsu stopped walking. She watched Mio with some amusement. "I told you to drink some water or else you'd regret it and I forgot what else I said. But yeah, you pulled a Yui so I had to shorten it up for you."

"…Oh."

Ritsu recalled the initial question. "Why did you ask?"

Mio continued to walk ahead, for she had only paused when she received what was seemingly a satisfactory answer. She shook her head half-heartedly. "It's nothing really. Thought I said something stupid—and embarrassing."

_Huuuh…. Heh._

Ritsu skipped a few steps to match Mio's pace. She gave a friendly smile as she offered, "How 'bout I tell you something embarrassing and you can tell me what you said? Well, what you thought you said."

When Mio's eyes caught the smile, Ritsu knew they were both thinking what they had exchanged yesterday. "Okay," Mio conceded. "You first."

Ritsu almost squealed in joy; blackmail material! To make sure Mio didn't change her mind, she hastily searched for an embarrassing moment. "Well, when I was drunk one time," she then paused and considered backpedalling; Mio might think she was mocking her. But with one glance back at her friend, she knew she had nothing to worry about. For now. "It got too hot or something, 'cause I started stripping. We were at a karaoke bar at the time, too—forgot which one. Reina was there. She tried to stop me but uh, I guess I really wanted to be naked or something. …Okay, that sounds wrong. As in, dirty wrong. Not like, uh, it's not supposed to sound like I was—horny or something."

Before Ritsu could chance another glance at Mio, expecting her to be offended or amused, Mio asked, "Is there more? Like … do you remember anything else? That happened at the time."

Ritsu looked up, and suddenly felt naked. She wasn't sure if it was her paranoia talking, but she'd actually rather Mio to be amused after seeing the look of _knowing_ on her face.

Ritsu trained her eyes on the footpath. "Um, something like that."

On second thoughts, she should've had kept her mouth shut. Or should've had taken her time in finding a more appropriate story.

"Why couldn't Reina stop you?" Mio asked. Her voice was probing. "You once told me she could restrain you as well as I can."

Ritsu attempted a voice of reason. "C'mon Mio. You know I tend to be pushy when drunk."

"…Hmm, that is true."

Ritsu ruffled the back of her hair, giggling and turning away. She exhaled in relief. It was a gut-wrenching feeling; wanting to tell but also not wanting to. "So? What about you?"

Mio seemed to walk faster. "What about me?"

Ritsu skipped to catch up. "Hey, hey. I told you about my embarrassing moment. Now's your turn."

"Oh! Well, I said—well, I thought I said—I wish I was shorter than you."

Ritsu ceased all movement. "_What?_"

Mio did an about-turn and placed a hand over her chest. "Thank you for sharing that with me, Ritsu," she said with a growing grin. "I'm sorry mine doesn't match up with yours."

Ritsu lunged forward. "You!"

Mio did another turn and dashed off.

Ritsu wasn't finished; she ran after her. "You tricked me! You come back here!"

Mio glanced over her shoulder and—Ritsu fumed—_stuck out her tongue_.

Ritsu picked up the speed. And just when she had thought she was gaining on Mio, Mio started to sprint.

"I said come back here!" Ritsu roared, "Face some hits to the head like I do, _damnit_!"

At the Tainaka residence, Akiyama Mio groaned in frustration as she mashed the buttons of the console controller. Beside her, Ritsu was smirking as she won match after match. The feeling of satisfaction nearly overrode the memory that Ritsu had shared, almost completely, with Mio.

Ren was also there—on the night Ritsu was drunk and embarrassed herself. They were together at the time, and he had a twin sister.

On any normal day they looked quite different. But with a mind that spun, Ritsu didn't see the difference; she had pressed her lips against Reina's.

**ooo**

"You got a job?" Daishiro asked, right next to her left ear.

Ritsu nodded, mildly turning her head towards her boyfriend. Her eyes were trained on the computer monitor as she replied, "Yeah. I start, um, tomorrow actually."

"Tomorrow? So … weekends?"

Ritsu nodded again, hoping the dialogue and—_is that a __**train**_?—in the movie was enough to distract Daishiro from the bigger picture. He was already working full-time on weekdays, and now that she was also working, part-time, but on weekends—

"What—a 500 dollar fucking _wallet_? Why the hell would you need that?"

Ritsu mentally groaned. _Now I'm anxious on when he's gonna figure it out._

"…Job." Daishiro said through the sudden crashing of gunfire, thanks to the surround sound system in his room. Ritsu wondered if his housemates were ever bothered by it. They always seemed to be conveniently absent whenever she was over.

There was a lull. Ritsu took the opportunity to ask, "What did you say?"

"What kind of job?"

"Waitress," Ritsu said briefly, itching to reach for the keyboard so she could lower the volume.

Much to Ritsu's surprise, the loud gunshots and screeching tires were silenced. Daishiro's hand quickly returned to her waist, right under the hem of her top. "With uniform?"

"Have you ever seen a waitress not wearing uniform?"

Daishiro chuckled. "Think you can visit tomorrow, after work?"

Ritsu raised an eyebrow at no one in particular. "You have a waitress fetish?"

There was no verbal response. The hand on her abdomen was sprayed out now, stroking her skin so idly that it became ticklish. Ritsu spun around and placed each of her legs at either side of Daishiro, carefully. The last time she had done it hastily, she ended up kneeing him where it horribly hurt.

When Ritsu had faced him directly, she asked, "You don't mind me working?"

Daishiro blinked slowly. "Mind? What? Uh, no. Why'd you ask?"

"…If you haven't noticed it yet, we don't share any free days now."

Daishiro tilted his head, as if in thought. "Oh," he finally said. "Hey, Watanabe got shot."

"What?" Ritsu twisted her head. "Where? I don't see him."

"Should show him again soon. It looked critical. Anyway," Daishiro paused the movie, "how far's the café?"

"About … half an hour away."

Daishiro slid his hands to Ritsu's hips and lifted the hem of her top until it rested on top of her bra. He proceeded to work on the clasp behind her back. "Let's watch the movie later," he muttered.

Relieved that he didn't become mad—or sulk—as she had expected, Ritsu quickly agreed. "Just don't leave marks. Working tomorrow."

Daishiro made a sound at the back of his throat and the bra was successfully taken off. Ritsu pulled up the top the rest of the way, knowing he had heard her or else he would've had paused.

Ritsu lay on her back as Daishiro leaned over her. She fumbled with the shirt buttons as he dipped his head, covering a nipple with his mouth. The feel of both teeth and tongue against it had Ritsu gasping and grabbing at Daishiro's dark hair. Or attempting to grab, as her fingers slipped to the base of his neck every time she tried.

Daishiro moved to the other nipple, adding more suction this time, and Ritsu stopped grabbing and began to press. Pressed her palm against his head. Her fingers were twisting strands of rough hair as Daishiro's mouth worked up on her inner thigh.

It was after Daishiro had looked over his shoulder as he threw away the used condom did Ritsu realise something. "Did you get a haircut?"

Daishiro's head snapped back to her, hiding the back of it. "Huh?"

Ritsu gestured him to look over his shoulder again. When Daishiro didn't comprehend, she sat up and pressed his cheek to one side. "Your hair, did you cut it?"

She could see him blink a couple of times. "No, why?"

"Oh, it just looks better for some reason today."

Daishiro shook off Ritsu's hand and smirked. "I didn't brush it this morning."

"…That's it?"

"Yeah."

Ritsu tried to glare down at him. "You bastard," she growled.

Daishiro's smile only grew.

**ooo**

Ritsu was running away.

Someone was chasing her. There was no malicious intent but Ritsu didn't want to give in to the numbness of her legs. Her lungs were still taking in air and she could still move.

What felt like an arm around her waist broke Ritsu's next step, sending her knees to tumble down onto soft, grey ground. Hot breath was brushing against her left ear, and there was a kiss on her neck.

Ritsu lay on her back, laughing, still easily taking in mouthfuls of oxygen when her chest was treated as a make-shift pillow. She threaded her fingers through soft, dark hair as she looked down.

Looked down at the neon numbers of 9:00.

Ritsu groaned as she hit the snooze button of the alarm clock.

At 9:07, Ritsu was yawning as she finally stumbled off towards the bathroom. She came back, running, to the room three minutes later to turn off the alarm. By then, she was fully awake.

All she needed now was a good shower and breakfast, some time to pick nice, comfortable clothes and Souta to not mention anything about her height when he arrived to pick her up.

It was finally Wednesday. Ice-skating day.

**ooooo**

_End of Chapter_

**A/N: Did I say, "Let's take what has happened in Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2 has happened. I'm ignoring the rest."? Sorry, I told a little lie. I think the only thing I'm ignoring is the five going to the **_**same**_** college. Do correct me if I am ignoring something else, though. Thanks in advance. :3**

**A huge thank you to each reader, and of course my awesome beta RtDK, for being patient with me. I'm trying my best to defeat pro-power so I can speed up my updates. It's an extremely slow process, but I'm winning the fight**_** and gaining exp**_**. :D *holds onto lucky egg***


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